Recently, I’ve been paying attention to the progress of the U.S. government shutdown, and it seems things may be turning for the better. Senate Majority Leader Thune recently revealed that there may be a breakthrough in negotiations between both sides, as signals of willingness to make concessions have reportedly come from the moderate wing of the Democratic Party.

The shutdown has already been going on for several months, and the scope of its impact is actually quite large. Food assistance has been interrupted, and air travel has been disrupted—these impacts on people’s day-to-day lives are accelerating the pace of negotiations on both sides. On the Republican side, they are already preparing a new round of temporary funding proposals, apparently aiming to push things forward during this window.

What’s interesting is that, although Democratic officials have not yet explicitly signaled a willingness to compromise, progressive lawmakers have already started supporting some stand-alone bills to ease the effects caused by the U.S. government shutdown. This kind of internal split actually reflects that both sides are looking for a way out.

Overall, this deadlock over the U.S. government shutdown may really be about to reach a result. With external pressure piling on top of internal division, the room for negotiations on both sides seems to be expanding. More developments are likely to follow.