Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said on Monday that he is “optimistic” lawmakers can strike a deal to reopen the government by the end of the week, and he is considering a stopgap spending bill into January or later as the proposed late-November date in the House-passed bill is no longer feasible.

The GOP leader told reporters that while he isn’t “confident” about the shutdown ending, he was more upbeat as talks continued among a bipartisan group of........

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