Hill reported that Senate Democrats are quietly exploring ways to bring the shutdown to an end — but they’re trying to do it without appearing to cave to Republican demands:Senate Democrats are taking a close look at a Republican proposal to pay all federal employees — including essential and furloughed workers — as they’re under new pressure from the nation’s largest federal workers union to pass a clean continuing resolution to reopen the government.

They also plan to introduce legislation to pay for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and extend funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, which provides essential nutrition assistance for lower income mothers.

The developments reveal Democrats are looking for a way to ease the impact of the four-week shutdown on federal workers who are struggling to pay their daily expenses and on lower income Americans who may soon run out of food.