Two weeks into the government shutdown, Thune and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer are talking at each other through the media — but not to each other.

Why it matters: Both see President Trump as the key to eventually unlocking real negotiations on health care.

• "I don't think Schumer's negotiating on any of this," Thune told us today in a sit-down interview. "He's in a box. He's got all these groups coming in this weekend and a base that's unhappy and wants to see him fight Trump."
• 💭 Thune explained he didn't speak directly to Schumer to offer to vote by a certain day on extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies — nor did he pitch his counterpart on passing a package of bipartisan funding bills.
• Schumer and Thune have not spoken this week, sources familiar with the matter tell us.

Zoom in: Thune tells us he still sees a path to ending the shutdown through rank-and-file Democrats.

• "There's a group of Democrats ... who've been meeting and communicating with members on our side," Thune told us, not naming names. "There have been several, sort of, offers exchanged."

👀 What to watch: Democrats have been demanding guarantees from Trump on health care, and Thune expects the president to eventually enter the conversation.

• 🔑 "The key to all this will be what the White House decides they want to do," he said, but he said he does not expect that to happen until after the government is reopened.
• "I don't think the president or his team are ... ready to enter into that conversation until the hostage-taking ends," he said.

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— Stef Kight

Go deeper: Why the White House is convinced it's winning the shutdown

Thune, who represents a top soybean-producing state, defended Trump's Argentina bailout as a currency exchange with precedent — but is demanding the administration do more to help farmers, fast.

• "We have made it very clear to the administration — as recently as yesterday, we had Jamie Greer up here, who's the U.S. trade rep — that they have got to get markets open for soybeans," Thune said.
• 🚨 As we told you yesterday, key Senate Republicans used the session to press Greer about plans to aid struggling soybean farmers.

— Stef Kight

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) accused Speaker Mike Johnson of "hypocrisy" for brushing off questions about a protective order issued against Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.).

Why it matters: It's the latest example of a pattern that has defined Greene's time in Congress: supporting leaders when it suits her political agenda and scorching them when it doesn't.

• Greene leveled the hypocrisy jab at Johnson (R-La.) during an interview with us today.
• She was referring to Johnson telling reporters yesterday that he would prefer to "talk about something serious" than address the protective order issued against Mills for allegedly threatening to release sexually explicit photos and videos of his ex-girlfriend.

🚘 Driving the news: Johnson "was Speaker and oversaw George Santos being expelled. Why isn't he doing anything about Cory Mills?" Greene told us.

• "This is a serious matter, and it needs to be taken seriously."
• Mills has previously denied the allegations.

The other side: Johnson didn't vote in favor of expelling former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from Congress and warned about the precedent it would set to expel a member before they're convicted of a crime.

• "Maybe he will be convicted by a jury of his peers, but that hasn't happened yet," Johnson said at the time on "Fox and Friends."
• Santos subsequently pleaded guilty to identity theft and wire fraud and is serving an 87-month prison sentence.

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— Kate Santaliz

Half a dozen House Democrats age 70 or older lost the fundraising race to their younger primary rivals between July and September, an Axios analysis has found.

Why it matters: The statistic highlights an unusually large number of credible Democratic primary challenges this election cycle as younger party members mount a major push for generational change.

Driving the news: Some incumbents were bested by orders of magnitude, with Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), 70, raising just $61,000 to the $143,000 brought in by attorney Patrick Roath, 38, over the same period.

• Former venture capitalist Eric Jones, 34, raised a stunning $1.5 million compared to about $612,000 raised by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), 74.
• And Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii), 73, raised close to $109,000, compared to the $228,003 raised by state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, 42.

🔎 Zoom in: The largest gap, proportionally speaking, was in the race to be D.C.'s non-voting delegate to Congress: 88-year-old incumbent Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) raised just $3,227 between July and September.

• Former DNC official Kinney Zalesne, 59, the first major challenger to jump into the race against Norton, brought in a little over $435,000. City councilwoman Brooke Pinto's campaign said the 33-year-old raised $300,000 on her first day.

What they're saying: "Incumbency used to guarantee a fundraising advantage — that's no longer true, and that's a big flashing warning sign for the establishment," Run for Something founder Amanda Litman told Axios.

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— Andrew Solender