Senators are showing newfound optimism they’ll be able to reopen the government in the near future, possibly by the end of next week, but it’s unclear which side is going to give.

While there hasn’t been much significant movement from either Democrats or Republicans as the government shutdown drags into day 30, senators appeared more optimistic than ever — though the bar is low — compared to when the shutdown began.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters yesterday conversations among rank-and-file senators have been picking up steam and he will be personally engaging with some Democrats “pretty soon.”

And Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a key senator in the shutdown talks, said there has been a “significant uptick in bipartisan conversations.”

• “The only way to end the shutdown is, I have said for the past 29 days, for people on both sides of the aisle to be talking, so that’s the good news,” Murkowski said yesterday.

The direction of those conversations is a lot less clear. To hear it from Democrats, Republicans are beginning to show cracks as Americans are starting to receive notices of higher premiums due to the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies.

Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) told reporters yesterday that while he was optimistic, “we still have work to do” and it has become “pretty clear that the things we were warning about are very true.”

• “When you consider that the areas with the largest number of people that are impacted are Republican congressional districts and Republican states, I would hope Republicans are willing to fight for their own people,” Peters said.

Along with rising premiums, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) noted next week’s off-year elections could push Republicans to negotiate depending on how well Democrats perform. Lawmakers could come to a resolution “very fast,” he said yesterday.

• “I think there’s real world impacts that could lead us to a solution,” Kaine said.

But if you ask Republicans, they say the pressure will only mount on Democrats next week to cave and vote for the GOP-proposed stopgap with over 40 million Americans at risk of losing access to food assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and disruption of a program for Women, Infants and Children.

• “I was hoping we’d break the logjam this week and if we don’t get it done this week, I’m sure hoping it gets done next week.” Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) told reporters yesterday. “TSA not getting paid, and now SNAP recipients not getting benefits, WIC, all those things that we’ve been trying to make do, we can’t.”

There’s also renewed talk about the Senate’s next minibus and whether it could ride with a stopgap to reopen the government. Republican appropriators are aiming to put the Defense appropriations bill on the floor as soon as next week to use as a vehicle for other spending measures.

Appropriators say there’s been renewed conversations about moving the Defense bill again after Democrats blocked a procedural vote on the bill earlier this month, seeking stronger assurances on what the minibus would look like and which measures would be attached to it.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) told Erik Wasson the talks have been about a three-bill minibus that would tie in the Labor-HHS-Education bill and possibly the Transportation-HUD bill to the Defense measure. The Labor-HHS-Education bill has historically been attached to the Defense bill, as both measures are replete with Democratic and Republican priorities, respectively.

Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters yesterday she’s become more optimistic on appropriations because, “There is an increasing realization on the part of Democrats that if they want to retain the ability to influence spending decisions, it means we have to pass the appropriations bills.”

But Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) was hardly as upbeat as Collins, reiterating to reporters that leaders have to participate in negotiations for lawmakers to make progress on appropriations.

• “Are they talking to our leaders? The leaders need to talk and figure this out. It’s what we’ve been saying all the way along,” Murray said when asked about Collins’ comments.