WASHINGTON (AP) — A president who wants to seize power beyond the executive branch. A Congress controlled by Republican lawmakers unwilling to directly oppose him. And a minority party that is looking for ways to fight back.
The lively left Washington in a stalemate on Thursday – the ninth day of the government shutdown – with lawmakers openly venting their frustration as they tried to gain traction without the trust that is usually the foundation of a bipartisan agreement.
“To have honest conversations, you have to have trust. Trust is a real challenge,” said Rep. Brad Schneider, chairman of the New Democratic Coalition, a pragmatic group of House Democrats.
Groups of lawmakers have tried — over dinners, on phone calls and in private meetings — to find ways out of the stalemate that has seen government offices closed, hundreds of thousands of federal workers kept at home and threats to fire them without a scheduled payday. But lawmakers are faced with the reality that relations between the two parties are badly frayed.
“We’re in an environment where we need more than a handshake,” said Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat who has held discussions with Republicans.
President Donald Trump and Republicans have maintained a stance that they will not negotiate Democratic health care demands until they vote to reopen the government. They also say that Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is beholden to the left wing of his party and is orchestrating the shutdown fight to fend off a primary challenge.
“There are some things that I think both sides are interested in addressing when it comes to health care in this country,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday. “But you can’t hold the federal government hostage and expect them to have a sensible conversation on these issues.”
When a handshake deal isn’t enough
Democrats insist that they cannot take Trump at his word and therefore need more than a verbal commitment to make a deal.
“Donald Trump has no respect for the law if he can push beyond it, so I think we need some protections,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut.
Conflicts over purchasing power had already been raging before the shutdown as the White House pushed to gain maximum power over budgets approved by Congress. The White House Budget Office had canceled numerous government contracts, including completely shutting out the Legislature from cutting $4.9 billion in foreign aid in August through a legally questionable process known as “pocket resignation.”
That angered Democrats — and angered some Republicans, who criticized it as executive overreach.
“I hate resignations, to be honest, unless they are approved by Congress,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican.
Matt Glassman, a fellow at Georgetown University’s Government Affairs Institute, said the president’s exploit of resignations “blows up the underlying dynamics of negotiations” because it introduces powerful partisanship into the budget allocation process that would otherwise require compromise, particularly in the Senate.
Then, as the government entered a shutdown, Trump’s budget director, Russ Vought, made arguments that the president would have even more authority to lay off workers and even cut pay for furloughed federal employees once the funding gap was resolved. Vought has also announced that the government is withholding billions of dollars for infrastructure projects in states where Democratic senators voted to close.
Trump has portrayed Vought’s actions as consequences of democratic obstruction and even shared a video portraying him as the Grim Reaper. But there was recognition on Capitol Hill that the hardball tactics are making negotiations more arduous.
“I think carrots work better than sticks with senators,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, a Republican from North Dakota.
A Democratic idea could win the support of the Republican Party
Before voting to reopen the government, Democrats’ main demand is that Congress adopt an expansion of subsidies for health plans under the Affordable Care Act. Trump appeared open to an agreement and said he wanted “great health care” for Americans.
What’s getting less attention is that Democrats also want novel protections in the law that would limit the White House’s ability to claw back or revoke funding already approved by Congress. While the final budget proposals are still being drafted, Republicans are open to the idea.
“As you end the shutdown and return to regular order in the budget legislation, there is very clear language about how we feel about resignations,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. “I think you will find tough, solid support from Republicans to ensure that what we agreed on is implemented.”
Meanwhile, the biggest sticking point for lawmakers this week was reaching an agreement on expanding health care subsidies.
The consequences of a longer shutdown
As the shutdown drags on with no sign of significant progress toward ending the impasse, lawmakers are looking ahead to the dates when federal workers will miss their payday.
Active-duty military troops would not receive a paycheck on October 15th. Some lawmakers are nervous about both the financial impact on troops and the political backlash of allowing soldiers to leave without pay.
Arguing with Democrats on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson pointed out that House Republicans had already passed a stopgap bill that would “keep the government open to make sure TSA agents, Border Patrol agents, the troops and everyone else gets paid.”
There has been some discussion in Congress about passing partial federal funding bills to ensure military members are paid, but so far Republicans have tried to keep up pressure on Democrats to vote for their bill.
Lawmakers seemed willing to interfere with each other and try to marginalize each other.
“If I were anyone, I wouldn’t question Donald Trump’s resolve on this issue,” Cramer said.
