Government shutdown updates: Senate vote marks step towards ending federal shutdown

The Senate is in session Friday, but Majority Leader John Thune has given no clear indication of what direction they'll take on votes, leading to a number of questions about the Senate's schedule on Friday and this weekend as the shutdown ticks on.

A vote on the short-term government funding bill that the Senate was expected to take Friday has still not yet been scheduled. And while Thune suggested Friday afternoon that he may consider calling up votes on other bills adjacent to government funding, such as GOP Sen. Ron Johnson's bill that would pay federal workers who are currently reporting to work, votes on those haven't been scheduled either.

"Well right now, we've got to get the Democrats kind of back engaged, and so, I can't say what's in and what's out. I think that's going to depend on whether or not Democrats want to get to yes," Thune said. "I thought we were on a track, we had given them everything they wanted or had asked for, and at some point, I was going to say they have to take yes for an answer. They were trending in that direction, and then yesterday, everything, kind of the wheels came off."

While the timing of votes and specifics of what bills may be brought to the floor are at this time entirely unclear, Thune said today that he would expect the Senate to be here this weekend. Thune said another vote to reopen the government would come either Friday or Saturday, but only when Democrats signal willingness to support a package of bills that Thune said he's been negotiating with Democrats on.

"Our members are going to be advised to be available if, in fact, there is a need to vote, and we will see what happens and whether or not, over the course of the next couple of days, the Democrats find a way to reengage again," Thune said.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, in an interview on Fox News, said he's providing Democrats another chance later Friday to vote on moving forward to reopen the government.

"The Democrats just have to take yes for an answer. We have given them everything, essentially that they were asking for," Thune said.

Thune said Republicans have offered Democrats a proposal to re-open the government – which includes holding a vote on the Affordable Care Act as well as moving on a package of appropriations bills. Though he reiterated that President Donald Trump won't directly negotiate with Democrats until the government is reopened.

-ABC News' Lauren Peller

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who previously served as a member of Congress, slammed senators for going home as the shutdown continues.

"When I was in Congress, we had shutdowns. I stayed here for a month. I didn't fly home. I sat in my office working on deals, working on solutions. Why are senators going home? If you can vote 14 times to keep the government shut down and create this gridlock in our airports, and you're going to go home -- they should sit here like Americans sit in airports. They shouldn't sit in their offices. They should sit in the Senate and figure out how they're going to come up with a deal to open this back up and not use the American people as leverage," Duffy said at Washington's Reagan National Airport on Friday.

Duffy encouraged airline travelers experiencing delays or cancellations to call their representatives.

"To those passengers that are upset, listen, call your Democrat senator. Fourteen times they voted no to open up the government," he said.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy visited Washington's Reagan National Airport on Friday morning as flight reductions take place at airports across the country.

"I want to hear about the passenger experience. What can we do better and get their feedback? I think that's always important to hear from the experience of the American traveling public," Duffy told reporters.

Duffy defended the administration's decision to direct airlines to cut 10% of their flights at the high-impact airports no later than Nov. 14.

"It is not a science. It is an art that we're trying to deploy to keep people safe in the airspace ... and we're trying to prevent the pressure that we now see building in the system," he said.

"These are the recommendations that have come from the FAA safety team, but you want us to look at what we see with regard to data and make really good decisions to keep people safe. That's what we've done today. I think it's the right decision," Duffy added.