In the spring of 2022, Canadian teenager Markus Schouten’s dying wish was that no child should be forced to choose between life and death.

Markus had just learned he was about to die. His oncologist broke the news to him and his family on the eighth floor cancer ward at British Columbia Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, Canada. They held each other, weeping.

Weeks later, lying on his family’s living room sofa, Markus dictated a letter to the Canadian Parliament’s Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, established to set guidelines on a federal law that allowed ‘assisted suicide’ in Canada in 2016.

Markus opposed lobbying efforts to expand the law to children under the age of 18.

‘That’s because life is worth living and we should always work to alleviate suffering without eliminating the sufferer,’ read the final letter, which was signed by his parents.

The letter closed, ‘Life is worth living, even when we are dying.’ 

A month later, Markus died, surrounded by his family and friends, telling them, ‘See you in paradise.’ 

Three years later, his parents, Mike and Jennifer Schouten, are carrying the torch for Markus in a mission to block efforts to allow ‘mature minors’ the right to choose to die through assisted suicide. They now work alongside a global network of like-minded advocates, including disability rights groups, who argue the assisted-suicide industry targets vulnerable people who would benefit from assisted living services. Already, in Canada, the law is expected to expand to patients with severe psychiatric disorders, as early as 2027.

But they are up against a powerful, well-funded machine. A Fox Digital investigation reveals the Schoutens and other opponents of euthanasia face a multimillion-dollar global lobby that could be called Assisted Suicide Inc., a sprawling network changing laws worldwide, developing euthanasia services for funeral parlors, selling ‘suicide pods,’ promoting ‘suicide tourism’ and even training ‘doulas for death.’

‘As we continue to expand the euthanasia regime, all the safeguards and windows have gone out the window,’ said Mike Schouten. ‘And it becomes open season for anyone to choose death, including children.’

What began as a limited effort to provide adults with terminal illnesses the ability to end pain and suffering has now grown into an international industry. According to a database compiled by the Pearl Project, a nonprofit journalism initiative, at least 96 organizations worldwide are now part of this movement. 

The global lobby cloaks assisted suicide in the language of civil rights and human rights, using euphemisms in their names, such as ‘assisted dying,’ ‘medical assistance in dying,’ ‘dying with dignity,’ ‘choice,’ ‘end of life,’ ‘completed life,’ ‘final exit,’ ‘free exit’ and the ‘right to die.’

These groups have a presence on every continent, but are predominately found in the West, which also faces alarmingly low birth rates. There are 41 groups in Europe; 31 groups in North America, with 25 of them in the United States, four in Canada and two in Mexico; 13 in Oceania, with most in Australia and one in New Zealand; and only five in Asia, two in Africa, and three in South America.

While most of their work has focused on adults, with Robert Munsch, the Canadian author of the best-selling children’s book, ‘Love You Forever,’ the latest high-profile person to recently announce he was approved for assisted suicide after being diagnosed with dementia. ‘Hello, Doc — come kill me!’ he joked, sharing the news.

The boundaries are shifting. Behind the push to extend these laws to children lies a legal Trojan horse: the ‘mature minor doctrine.’

This concept, first established in a 1967 Washington Supreme Court case, Smith v. Seibly, once allowed limited medical discretion for minors. But over decades, it has metastasized into a sweeping jurisdiction for granting children autonomy – and secrecy – over their medical decisions. Today, it lets minors make choices without parental involvement on gender pronouns, gender transitions, contraception and abortion. In 13 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, minors can even obtain abortions without parental knowledge.

Now, advocates are leveraging that same doctrine to argue that children should have the ‘medical autonomy’ to choose death. The ‘National Youth Rights Association,’ a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Hyattsville, Md., uses the ‘mature minors’ to die by physician-assisted suicide.

Euthanasia is already legal for adults in Australia, Belgium, Colombia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and 11 U.S. states. But three countries – the Netherlands, Belgium and Colombia – have gone further, allowing ‘mature minors’ to die by physician-assisted suicide.

In February 2023, despite the pleas of Marcus and his parents, Canada’s Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying recommended extending the right to some youth, declaring that parents should be ‘consulted’ but that the ‘will of a minor’ with decision-making capacity ‘ultimately takes priority.’

The same debate has now reached the United Kingdom, where a bill to allow adult euthanasia is moving through the British Parliament. Earlier this year, the British House of Commons narrowly voted 259 to 216 to bar physicians from discussing assisted suicide with youth, meaning nearly half of lawmakers supported discussing assisted suicide for youth.

Katharine Birbalsingh, a British educator known as ‘Britain’s Strictest Headmistress,’ believes it’s only a matter of time before youth are included.

‘Assisted suicide will spread, full stop,’ she told Fox Digital. ‘And the people allowed to do assisted suicide will grow, making it younger and younger.’

Birbalsingh argues that Western societies have fallen for the dangerous illusion that ‘the child must lead,’ leading to thinking such as ‘Oh, he wants to change his gender, or he wants to commit suicide.’

‘Once upon a time,’ she said, ‘adults used to say, ‘No, the child is not capable of leading, because he is a child.‘ In the West, we have forgotten that we’re meant to be in charge as adults.’

‘There ‘s just a million reasons why young people would want to choose death,’ said Birbalsingh, the founder of the Michaela Community School in London. ‘You know, young people are compulsive, they make whimsical decisions. They make irresponsible decisions. They’re young. That’s sort of the definition of a child.’

‘That’s why they need looking after,’ Birbalsingh added. ‘That’s why we need to look after them as adults. That’s our job. It’s our role in life, to keep and protect them, sometimes from themselves. The people making these decisions just don’t understand young people.’ Lawmakers there was a ‘very real risk’ that proposed assisted suicide legislation, called the ‘Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill,’ would be expanded to include children if they didn’t vote for her amendment.

British Labour Party MP Meg Hillier voiced similar concerns during parliamentary debate, warning that teen brains make them particularly ‘susceptible to being influenced, including into dangerous and risky behavior.’

She said, ‘In a number of countries, assisted dying laws have been expanded to allow children and young people to end their lives. We need to be alert to that very real risk.’

Another MP, Sorcha Eastwood, cited social media’s toll on youth brain health, saying, ‘If we throw this into the mix, it has the potential to do untold damage.’

So far, pro-euthanasia groups in the U.S. have remained quiet about extending assisted suicide to minors, but critics fear it’s only a matter of time.

The British Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, warned that the proposed changes would allow doctors to discuss assisted dying with 17-year-olds ‘deemed competent,’ preparing them for the choice upon turning 18. In a May report, she said that she had convened a panel of youth to discuss the issue.

In Canada, the euphemism ‘MAID,’ or ‘Medical Assistance In Dying,’ has softened the conversation. But the statistics are stark. In 2023, about 15,000 Canadians died through ‘MAID,’ about one in every 20 deaths nationwide, a 16% increase from 2022, making assisted suicide the fifth leading cause of death. 

The movement is also big business. Dying with Dignity Canada, based in Toronto, reported $3 billion in expenses in 2024, including $803,555 for advertising and promotions. It publicly argues that ‘mature minors should be allowed the right to choose MAID,’ calling it ‘unfair’ to deny a 17-year-old what a 70-year-old is granted.

The British Columbia Humanist Association, the Canada chapter of Humanists International Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in New York City, likewise demands MAID access for ‘mature minors’ and ‘those whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness,’ It insisting there is ‘no moral or ethical distinction between a mature minor and a young adult.’ It argues: ‘Ensure Dignity in Death.’ The ‘high priestess’ of euthanisia, Dr. Ellen Wiebe, also supports extending assisted suicide to children. 

The Netherlands offers a preview of what comes next. Legal since 2002, Dutch euthanasia laws permit doctors to end lives of children as young as one, including newborns ‘suffering unbearably with no prospects of improvement.’ 

By 2024, euthanasia accounted for 9,958 deaths in 2024, or 5.8% of the country’s deaths.

A recent study published in the International Journal of Psychiatry found that among Dutch euthanasia applicants, 73% were young women with psychiatric diagnoses including major depression, autism, eating disorder, trauma-related disorders and a ‘history of suicidality.’ The researchers acknowledged there is an ‘urgent need’ to study ‘persistent death wishes’ in this ‘high-risk group.’

In one chilling case, a boy with autism, aged 16 to 18, ended his life after describing it as ‘joyless’ and ‘lonely,’ according to the 2024 annual report of the Regional Euthanasia Review Committees, which approves medical-assisted suicides. His doctor ‘had no doubt about his decisional competence.’

Last year, 14 Dutch psychiatrists urged prosecutors to investigate a case involving a 17-year-old girl, Milou, who died by euthanasia after years of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation, following childhood sexual abuse. They warned against the ‘widespread promotion of euthanasia’ leading to ‘unnecessary deaths.’ The Royal Dutch Medical Association scolded the psychiatrists, and prosecutors declined to act.

In 2014, Belgium became the second country in the world to allow child euthanasia, requiring parental consent.The Belgian Federal Euthanasia Review and Evaluation Committee says that six youth have requested euthanasia between 2014 and 2024. Last year, one young person made the request. 

The industry has faced allegedly criminal revelations. In Australia, one alleged ‘euthanasia ring kingpin,’ Brett Daniel Taylor, faces prison for selling vulnerable people lethal veterinary drugs nicknamed ‘the Green Dream.’

Back in Canada, Mike and Jennifer Schouten remain committed to fulfilling their son’s wish. 

Michael remembers Markus lying on the sofa, dictating the words that became his son’s final message to lawmakers.

One day, in his final days, Markus said to his parents, ‘I can see what you are doing with your work is connected to what we’re going through. If we can share our story, we should.’

Now, Michael says, ‘I feel he is blessing our work.’

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Two Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers were killed by terror operatives in Rafah, southern Gaza, threatening the ceasefire with Hamas, Israeli military sources confirmed to Fox News Digital on Sunday.

The soldiers, Major Yaniv Kula, 26, a company commander in the 932nd Battalion of the Nahal Brigade, and Staff Sergeant Itay Yavetz, 21, a combat soldier in the same battalion, were both based in Modi’in-Maccabim-Reut.

According to the initial IDF investigation, a militant cell had emerged from a tunnel and fired at an excavation vehicle, killing the two soldiers. A reserve soldier was also severely wounded and evacuated to a hospital, per The Times of Israel.

According to Professor Kobi Michael, senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and the Misgav Institute, the attack showed the fragility of the ceasefire deal.

‘Today’s violation of the agreement was severe,’ Michael said. ‘I assume that this is not going to be the last one,’ he told Fox News Digital.

‘Israel complies [with President Trump’s] plan and wants to continue with the realization of the plan,’ he said.

‘This agreement was violated since the first day by Hamas,’ Michael added. ‘And it continued with their behavior with regard to the hostages, the dead hostages.’

‘All the manipulation that they are doing plays on the nerves of Israeli society,’ he continued, saying the terror group is ‘making themselves as if they are not able… to find the bodies where everybody knows that they can.’

Michael detailed how the first violation came immediately after the redeployment of the IDF along the so-called Yellow Line, ‘when Hamas first sent [civilian] children in order to provoke the IDF, in order to check if the IDF is aware enough and ready enough.’

‘And then they sent militants of Hamas, and some of them were even killed along the yellow line,’ he said.

‘They continue reconstituting themselves and attacking the IDF by using the tunnels, using the shafts going out, because they now feel much freer, because the IDF left the populated area,’ he explained.

Michael also cited Hamas’ ‘butchering’ of civilians ‘because they suspect that they collaborated with Israel, or because they are afraid that these hamulas or clans might oppose them in the future… and weaken them.’

In response to Sunday’s attack, the IDF launched air and ground strikes across southern Gaza.

‘The IDF also struck and dismantled six kilometers of underground terrorist infrastructure, using over 120 munitions. The underground site was used by the terrorist organization to advance attacks against the State of Israel,’ it said in a statement.

‘The IDF will continue to respond firmly and will operate to eliminate any threat to the State of Israel,’ it said.

Israel simultaneously announced a suspension of all humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. 

Michael warned that Hamas has no intention of dismantling itself and cooperating with the plan when it comes to demilitarizing the Gaza Strip and establishing a mechanism of alternative governance.

‘Hamas is still using the tunnels, and intends to reconstruct the tunnels that were destroyed by Israel, because they intend to continue the war against Israel,’ he said.

He said that the militant organization has been rebuilding its ranks and reasserting control in the Strip.

‘They immediately recruited [thousands] of people and deployed them and are butchering their own people,’ Michael said.

‘They do not intend to give up on their position and influence in the Gaza Strip. They do not accept the idea of dismantling themselves. And they do not accept the idea that a foreign force or board will govern the Gaza Strip,’ he concluded.

The incident comes just days after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, which took effect Oct. 10, temporarily halted the two-year war between Israel and Hamas. 

Under the deal, hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and a ceasefire was declared.

Later on Sunday, the IDF announced the resumption of the ceasefire, following retaliatory strikes.

‘In accordance with the directive of the political echelon and following a series of significant strikes in response to Hamas’ violations, the IDF has begun the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire,’ a statement read.

‘The IDF will continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and will respond firmly to any violation of it,’ the military added.

In a statement, Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon said: ‘Earlier today, two IDF soldiers, Maj. Yaniv Kula and Staff Sgt. Itay Yavetz, were killed by Hamas terrorists in Rafah in what was a flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement.’

‘We mourn their loss and send our condolences to their families. Israel has abided by the terms of the ceasefire agreement, but we will make it clear to Hamas terrorists that the IDF will do whatever it takes to protect Israel’s security,’ Danon added.

Michael, meanwhile, predicted delays in reopening the Rafah Crossing, a critical entry point for aid and movement.

‘I don’t think Rafah Crossing will open tomorrow,’ he said. ‘It will take several days until it is opened,’ he said.

President Donald Trump said he believes Venezuela is ‘feeling heat’ amid his administration’s war against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, which has taken out at least two vessels in just the past week. 

Although Trump has said the strikes are intended to curb the influx of drugs into the United States, experts and some lawmakers contend that they serve another purpose: to exert pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro so he’s ousted from power. 

‘The Trump administration is likely attempting to force Maduro to voluntarily leave office through a series of diplomatic moves, and now military action and the threat thereof,’ Brandan Buck, a foreign policy analyst at the Cato Institute, said in an email to Fox News Digital Thursday. ‘Whether this constitutes a ‘regime change’ or something else is a question of semantics.’ 

The Trump administration repeatedly has said it does not recognize Maduro as a legitimate head of state, but instead, a leader of a drug cartel. In August, the Trump administration upped the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million, labeling him ‘one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world.’

So far, the Trump administration has been tight-lipped when asked about Maduro, and Trump declined to answer Wednesday when asked if the CIA had the authority to ‘take out’ Maduro. 

However, Trump confirmed that he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, after the New York Times reported Wednesday he signed off on the move. Trump told reporters he did so because Venezuela has released prisoners into the U.S., and that drugs were coming into the U.S. from Venezuela through sea routes. 

Additionally, Trump confirmed Friday that Maduro offered to grant the U.S. access to Venezuelan oil and other natural resources, claiming the Venezuelan leader didn’t want to ‘f*** around’ with the U.S. 

Still, these recent strikes are unlikely to majorly undermine drug flow into the U.S., according to Buck. 

‘It is more likely that those strikes are part of this incremental effort to dislodge Maduro than merely an effort to wage war on the cartels,’ Buck said. ‘Pacific and overland routes through Mexico are considerably more prolific, and Venezuela itself is a relatively minor player, especially when it comes to fentanyl.’ 

The Trump administration has employed maritime forces to address drug threats, and has bolstered naval assets in the Caribbean in recent months. For example, Trump has sent several U.S. Navy guided missile destroyers to enhance the administration’s counter-narcotics efforts in the region starting in August.

Geoff Ramsey, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council international affairs think tank, said that the Trump administration wants these additional forces to encourage the Venezuelan military to take matters into their own hands. 

‘What President Trump is hoping is that this deployment will signal to the Venezuelan military that they should rise up against Maduro themselves,’ Ramsey said in a Thursday email to Fox News Digital. ‘The problem is that we haven’t seen this approach bear fruit in twenty years of trying. Maduro is terrible at governing, but good at keeping his upper ranks fat and happy while the people starve.’

‘What is needed here is some kind of a road map, or a blueprint for a transition, that can be more attractive to the ruling party and those around Maduro who might secretly want change but need to see a future for themselves in a democratic Venezuela,’ Ramsey said. 

Meanwhile, the second Trump administration has adopted a hard-line approach to address the flow of drugs into the U.S., and designated drug cartel groups like Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa and others as foreign terrorist organizations in February.

Additionally, the White House sent lawmakers a memo Sept. 30 informing them that the U.S. is now participating in a ‘non-international armed conflict’ with drug smugglers, and has conducted at least six strikes against vessels off the coast of Venezuela. The U.S. seized survivors from the most recent strike Thursday — the first one involving survivors. At least 28 other individuals have died from previous strikes. 

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have voiced concerns over the legality of the strikes, and Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., filed a war powers resolution in September to bar U.S. forces from engaging in ‘hostilities’ against certain non-state organizations.

The resolution failed in the Senate by a 51–48 margin on Oct. 8, but Republicans Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted alongside their Democratic counterparts for the resolution.

On Friday, Schiff, Kaine and Paul introduced another narrower war powers resolution that would block U.S. armed forces from participating in ‘hostilities’ against Venezuela specifically. The lawmakers said the resolution came in response to Trump’s comments considering land operations in Venezuela. 

‘The Trump administration has made it clear they may launch military action inside Venezuela’s borders, and won’t stop at boat strikes in the Caribbean,’ Schiff said in a statement Friday. ‘In recent weeks we have seen increasingly concerning movements and reporting that undermine claims that this is merely about stopping drug smugglers. Congress has not authorized military force against Venezuela. And we must assert our authority to stop the United States from being dragged—intentionally or accidentally—into full-fledged war in South America.’

When asked about lawmakers’ concerns about the legality of the strikes, Trump dismissed them and said that lawmakers were informed the vessels carried drugs. 

‘But they are given information that they were loaded up with drugs,’ Trump said on Tuesday. ‘And that’s the thing that matters. When they’re loaded up with drugs, they’re fair game. And every one of those ships were and they’re not ships, they’re they’re boats.’ 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

I went to England on a history vacation. It turned into an archaeological expedition, uncovering the bones of a once-great civilization. 

All the tourist sites are still there. You can still see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, recall the ‘V’ for victory in the Churchill War Rooms or be inspired to pray at Westminster Abbey. But those are mere historical artifacts, like the pyramids of Egypt or the Acropolis in Greece. The ideals and most of the people who believe in them are long gone.

I was in London less than 24 hours before a terror attack killed two people in a Manchester synagogue. Police also killed the terrorist, a Syrian-born, 35-year-old immigrant named Jihad Al-Shamie, who they said had pledged himself to ISIS. Two innocent Jewish people are dead and a walking, talking metaphor was the cause. Jewish citizens admitted the assault was shocking but not surprising, given the rise of antisemitism in England. 

Two days later, thousands of ‘pro-Palestinians’ held a protest around Trafalgar Square. I watched police arrest a few radicals, while the crowd chanted, ‘Free Palestine.’ British Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged everyone not to protest on the Oct. 7th anniversary of the attack on Israel because he said it was ‘un-British.’ Unfortunately, it’s all too British these days. Britain has imported millions of people who hold no allegiance to its nation or its beliefs. They brought with them both a hatred of Jewish people and Western civilization. 

On Oct. 11, hundreds of thousands of ‘pro-Palestine’ protesters marched in London, shutting down streets and businesses. Even the ceasefire in Gaza didn’t satisfy them. It’s Starmer’s fault. He recognized a Palestinian state, rewarding Hamas for its barbaric assault on Israel and emboldening the protesters. 

Now, the government has to try to look good. It told universities they must ‘take stronger action to protect Jewish students,’ according to Reuters. But, a new YouGov poll says one out of five Britons holds antisemitic views. The message to Jews in England seems disturbingly similar to what it was in 1930s Germany: get out while you still can.

That is only one aspect of the failed British state. Some British people understand they had their history and culture stolen from them, but fear their government enough that they are unwilling or unable to do anything about it. One resident I met was afraid to even wear the British flag for fear of arrest. The same individual referred to England as a ‘tinder box’ that could turn into a civil war.

Those feelings aren’t surprising. A Labour Party member of the British Parliament, Jeevun Sandler, came out on Oct. 12, urging England to take down its flag from lamp posts because it was seen as ‘unwelcoming’ to immigrants. A local politician was investigated by police after she said she was ‘born and bred here.’ And a recent study from the University of Leicester’s Centre for Hate Studies complains that rural England is ‘overwhelmingly White’ and needs ‘inclusion.’ 

It’s not just politics. Canterbury Cathedral, a truly majestic monument to Christianity and Western civilization, was turned into a site for a graffiti-like art demonstration of England’s decline and fall. Christianity Today explains it as an, ‘art exhibit titled ‘Hear Us,’ which features temporary graffiti stickers that were slapped on Canterbury’s stone pillars and aim to highlight minorities while posing challenging questions to God.’ Artist Alex Vellis self describes as ‘an agender goblin-thing.’ Just the person you’d pick to decorate one of the world’s most famous religious sites.

What Vellis did is not art. It’s desecration. Thank God, I saw the cathedral just before this betrayal.

Major institutions embraced the guilt complex that causes all this. It is common for tour guides, museum employees and docents to fill their talks with leftist talking points about climate change and immigration. Many historic sites I visited were quick to demonize British history. Explorer and privateer Sir Francis Drake, who heroically defended England against the Spanish armada, is slammed as an enslaver at the very maritime museum he helped inspire.

British media is worse. The BBC is almost laughably left wing. It layered discussions of the Manchester terror attack with the typical refrain, ‘but Israel.’ Other outlets weren’t as bad, but that’s not saying much. Even commercials show the built-in biases. I saw at least 13 Unicef UK Ads on my television. Nine were about providing aid to Gaza, one more was for Yemen. There were no ads about helping Christians being genocided In Africa. Or even aiding Muslims in China or Myanmar, where they are also being persecuted. Of course, they aren’t fighting Israel in those locations.

Starmer’s many failures make him wildly unpopular and the Reform Party is polling high, looking like it could sweep future elections. The British response is to crack down even more. Rather than defend its own history and culture, the government wars against them. Already, 12,000 people are arrested each year for what they say online. 

British politician and journalist Daniel Hannan summarized these problems with the question, ‘Why are so many British leaders anti-British?’

Those problems are already here in America, they simply haven’t taken root as strongly yet. England is perhaps 10 or 20 years ahead of us. It can serve as a warning or a peek at our inevitable decline. Our campuses are filled with indoctrinated young people, ignorant of history and eager to carry whatever banner will tear down America and the West. It doesn’t matter if it’s the flag of communism or Hamas.

There are some in England who haven’t given up. But the fear is that it is too late. And looking around England, it’s hard to feel otherwise. For America, it’s not too late… yet.

Senate Republicans are worried about the precedent that Senate Democrats have set for future funding fights as the shutdown continues into its 20th day.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the Democratic caucus have dug in deep on their demand for an extension to expiring Obamacare subsidies and have worked to spin the narrative from a battle to fund the government to a fistfight for healthcare.

But it’s been over three weeks since Schumer and Democrats blocked Republicans’ first attempt to pass the House GOP’s continuing resolution (CR). And since then, there are no signs that Democrats are willing to back down from their demands.

‘I think Schumer has basically sort of destroyed the institution of the Senate,’ Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. ‘He has, you know, whether it’s what he’s done on the nominees or with this shutdown. I think he’s made government unmanageable. So, hopefully, this is not the way we continue to operate.’

Informal talks between the parties have ebbed and flowed over the course of the shutdown, but neither side is any closer to an off-ramp than they were when the first vote failed late last month.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., has been involved in those talks but noted that this week they have been fading. When asked if he was worried that Democrats’ shutdown posture might be replicated in the future, he told Fox News Digital, ‘I can’t worry about their position.’

‘It doesn’t make sense,’ he said. ‘If there was a strategy behind it, OK, we get out, we can figure out how to move them. But there is no strategy. It’s just like, burn it all down.’

Senate Republicans now view Democrats’ shutdown position as a hostage-taking exercise, with no real ground for negotiations until after the government reopens.

‘We can’t negotiate with them until we come out of shutdown,’ Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told Fox News Digital. ‘You can’t hold the government hostage. And that’s why it’s very important — we’ve said we’ll work on all these different issues they want to bring up. But you can’t shut down the government, hold the government hostage as part of negotiation.’

The informal talks, which Republicans quickly note aren’t full-blown negotiations, have produced an olive branch of sorts from Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who signaled to Senate Democrats that he would offer them a vote on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits if they voted to reopen the government.

But for a 10th time on Thursday, they blocked his effort to turn the lights back on and then hours later blocked a procedural move to allow lawmakers to consider the annual defense spending bill.

In both instances, Democrats wanted guarantees that Thune and Republicans could not provide.

‘The Dems, someday, they’re going to rue the day they did this, because we have offered up an open appropriations process, regular order, doing things that way,’ Thune told Fox News Digital.

‘I think it’s unfortunate, but it’s a reality that we’re dealing with,’ he continued. ‘And I hope they change their mind and realize that it’s in everybody’s best interest to try and at least get the government open and then start going to work and funding the government the old-fashioned way.’

Many Republicans hope that after the ‘No Kings’ rally in Washington, D.C., over the weekend that Senate Democrats may have a change of heart.

But others see it as a performative opportunity for congressional Democrats to show they are fighting back against President Donald Trump and the GOP.

‘Typically, if you reward bad behavior, you get more bad behavior,’ Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital. ‘That’s what the Democrats are basically doing. They’re pretending that President Trump didn’t get elected last November. That’s basically the whole fight, because they have the goofballs that are going to be here Saturday, so they have to show the goofballs they’re fighting.’