WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — As the government shutdown enters its fourth week, Senate Republicans head to the White House on Tuesday — not for urgent talks on how to end it, but to show unity with the president Donald Trump as they refuse to negotiate on any Democratic demands.
Senate Democrats are also confident in their strategy continue to vote against the bill passed by the House of Representatives it will reopen the government until Republicans, including Trump, offer them an extension health care subsidies that are about to expire at the end of the year.
With both sides showing no signs of moving, it is unclear how long the stalemate will last, even as hundreds of thousands of federal workers I'll miss another paycheck In the coming days, states will warn that key federal programs will soon end entirely. And the White House meeting is unlikely to produce a bipartisan resolution at this point, as Senate Republicans dug in and Trump followed suit.
“I think the president is willing to engage in a discussion” about extending the subsidies, Senate Republican Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Monday. “But I don’t think they’re ready to do that until (Democrats) open up the government.”
While Capitol Hill remains gridlocked, the effects of the lockdown are worsening. Federal workers could miss out on additional paychecks amid complete uncertainty about when they will eventually be able to get paid. Government services such as Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Childrenknown as WIC, and Start preschool programs serving families in need are facing potential funding cuts. On Monday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the National Nuclear Security Administration lays off 1,400 federal workers. The Federal Aviation Administration has reported a shortage of air traffic controllers and flight delays in U.S. cities.
However, there was little urgency in Washington, with each side believing the other would eventually concede.
“Our position remains the same: We want to end the shutdown as quickly as possible and fix the ACA premium crisis that looms over 20 million hardworking Americans,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday, referring to the expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire in December.
Schumer called the White House meeting a “pep rally” and said it was “shameful” that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, kept the House out of town during the shutdown.
Members of both parties acknowledge that as the shutdown drags on, it becomes less likely every day that Congress will be able to either extend subsidies or fund the government through the normal appropriations process. The House GOP bill, which Senate Democrats have already rejected 11 times, would only keep the government open until Nov. 21.
Thune hinted Monday that Republicans could propose a longer extension of current funding instead of passing separate spending bills if the shutdown doesn't end soon. Congress will need to pass an extension after Nov. 21, he said, “if not something on a much longer-term basis.”
Democrats are focused on Nov. 1, when the enrollment period for ACA coverage begins next year and millions of people will sign up for coverage. without extended subsidy assistance it started during the Covid-19 pandemic. Once such enrollment begins, they say, it will be much more difficult to restore the subsidies, even if they did reach a bipartisan compromise.
“Very soon, Americans will have to make some really tough choices about what health care plan they will choose for the next year,” Schumer said.
Tuesday's White House meeting will be a chance for Republican senators to discuss the quarantine with the president after he was… more involved in foreign policy and other issues.
Last week, the president called Democrats' demands “crazy,” adding, “We're just not going to do it.”
North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said Republican senators will discuss strategy with the president during lunch on Tuesday. “Obviously we'll talk to him about it and he'll give us his ideas and we'll discuss ours,” Hoven said. “We're doing everything we can to try to convince Democrats to join us” in passing the Republican bill to reopen the government, Hoeven said.
Still, GOP lawmakers expect Trump to stick to his current position and refuse to negotiate until the government reopens.
“Until they put something reasonable on the table to discuss, I don't think there's anything to talk about,” said Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy.
Democrats say they believe Trump needs to be more involved in the government to reopen it.
“He needs to get off the game, get off the golf course,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. “We know that Republicans in the House and Senate do nothing without permission from their boss, Donald Trump.”
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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Stephen Groves and Matt Brown contributed to this report.
