Republicans and the Trump administration are preparing for a prolonged government shutdown and taking measures to ease any political pain that might hit them, while trying to make life arduous for Democrats.
The White House is taking steps to reallocate funds to ensure the military receives paychecks during the shutdown.
In this way, a constituency critical to Republicans and Trump is protected, but Democrats are deprived of the ability to fund the military.
The White House is anything but dared the Democrats to strike back on Trump’s maneuvers, a position expressed Tuesday by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
“If Democrats want to go to court and challenge the pay of troops, bring it. OK,” he said during a news conference at the Capitol.
Federal law enforcement agencies such as the Office of Management and Budget could be next in line stated on Tuesday Opportunities are being sought to pay civil servants at the federal level.
In addition, the White House has unveiled plans to further fund the Special Nutritional Supplements Program for Women, Infants and Children.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it would utilize hundreds of millions of dollars from Section 32 tariff revenues to fund the nutrition program, which lawmakers consider critical because it covers 6 million participants per month.
The measures almost ensure that the shutdown will extend beyond the 16-day shutdown in 2013.
It increasingly looks like the fight could stretch into November, calling into question the longest shutdown on record – a 35-day funding shortfall that lasted from slow 2018 to 2019 because of President Trump’s insistence on funding the border wall.
“I think so,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said of the long-term shutdown. “I hope I’m wrong.”
Capito called the sluggish shutdown “disappointing” and reiterated Republicans’ calls for Democrats to reopen the government and negotiate.
“It’s so simple,” she said.
Democrats insist they won’t move unless the GOP agrees to an extension of increased health insurance subsidies that expire at the end of the year. Republicans have refused to begin talks on a possible solution until the minority party allows the government to reopen.
“I remember when Democrats cared about the impact of a government shutdown,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said in his speech Tuesday. “I used to think they were sincere in these views, but it has become abundantly clear that their previous statements were based not on principle but on political advantage.”
“But I guess … the Democrats care more about getting the approval of their far-left base than they do about getting the approval of everyday Americans,” he added.
Johnson warned on Monday that the shutdown would last a long time.
“We are headed for one of the longest shutdowns in American history unless Democrats drop their partisan demands and pass a clean, non-binding budget to reopen the government and pay our federal workers.” he said.
However, the possibility of the fight extending into November presents up-to-date challenges.
Despite the tax credits expiring on Dec. 31, Democrats have long argued that the end of October is the crucial time because open enrollment begins Nov. 1, meaning any fixes must be made by then.
It is noteworthy that the Democrats have proposed October 31 as the funding deadline as part of their party-political continuity solution package. This included permanently extending Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, repealing Republican efforts to claw back funding, and reversing the Medicaid cuts that were part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“Republican leaders can say whatever they want [that] “There is nothing to negotiate, but unless Republicans change course, 20 million Americans will very soon face financial catastrophe as their health care premiums go through the roof,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday. “This is the reality that Republicans cannot make disappear simply by intervening.”
“The ACA premium crisis is not a problem that can be fixed later, but rather a problem that can be fixed immediately,” he continued. “Republicans may think they can hold out until the next ice age, but a fork in the road is coming whether they like it or not.”
But with immediate pressure points out of the way, there doesn’t appear to be much urgency on Capitol Hill to find a solution.
The House remains in recess until next week as the chamber has not held votes in nearly a month as Johnson tries to keep the focus on Democrats’ gridlock in the upper chamber.
As for the Senate, Thune told reporters he expects they will leave town for the weekend on Thursday, meaning they are expected to be in Washington for about 48 hours over the course of the week.
