WASHINGTON (AP) — As the government shutdown enters its fourth week, Senate Republicans are heading to the White House on Tuesday — not for urgent talks on how to end it, but to show their unity with President Donald Trump as they refuse to negotiate Democratic demands.
Senate Democrats are also confident in their strategy of continuing to vote against a House-passed bill that would reopen the government until Republicans, including Trump, force them to extend health care subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year.
With both sides showing no signs of moving, it’s unclear how long the standoff will last – even as hundreds of thousands of federal workers will miss another paycheck in the coming days and states issue warnings that key federal programs will soon expire entirely. And it seems unlikely, for now, that the lunch in the White House Rose Garden will result in a bipartisan solution, given Senate Republicans’ commitment and Trump having followed their lead.
Asked about the message at the luncheon, Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, second in the GOP lead in the Senate, told Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday that it would be: “Republicans are united, and I expect the president to say, ‘Stay powerful.’
Republican Senate leader John Thune of South Dakota said Monday he believes Trump is willing to “join the discussion” about expanding subsidies. “But I don’t think they’re ready to do that until (Democrats) open up the government,” he said.
Missed paychecks and programs running out of money
As gridlock continues on Capitol Hill, the effects of the shutdown are worsening.
Federal workers are likely to miss out on additional paychecks because of complete uncertainty about when they will ultimately be paid. Government services such as the special nutritional supplement program for women, infants and children, known as WIC, and the Head Start preschool programs that support needy families face possible funding cuts. On Monday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the National Nuclear Security Administration is furloughing 1,400 federal employees. The Federal Aviation Administration has reported a shortage of air traffic controllers and flight delays in cities across the United States.
And as the shutdown leaves future health care costs in limbo for millions of Americans, most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more exorbitant as they make health insurance decisions next year, according to a fresh poll from the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Still, there is little urgency in Washington as both sides assume the other will eventually give in.
“Our position remains the same: We want to end the shutdown as quickly as possible and resolve the ACA premium crisis that is threatening over 20 million hardworking Americans,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday, referring to the Affordable Care Act’s expanded subsidies that expire in December.
Schumer called the White House meeting a “peer rally” and said it was “shameful” that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., kept the House out of town during the shutdown.
Deadlines in November
Members of both parties acknowledge that as the shutdown drags on, it becomes less likely that Congress will be able to either extend the subsidies or fund the government through the regular appropriations process. The House GOP bill, which Senate Democrats have now rejected 11 times, would only keep the government open until Nov. 21.
Thune suggested Monday that Republicans may propose a longer extension of current funding rather than passing individual spending bills if the shutdown doesn’t end soon. Congress must agree to an extension beyond Nov. 21, he said, “if not something on a much longer-term basis.”
Democrats are focused on Nov. 1, when the sign-up period for ACA insurance begins next year and millions of people will get their insurance without the expanded subsidy support that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Once those enrollments begin, he said, it will be much harder to restore the subsidies, even if there is a bipartisan compromise.
“Very soon, Americans will have to make some really difficult decisions about which health plan they choose next year,” Schumer said.
What about Trump?
Tuesday’s meeting at the White House will be an opportunity for Republican senators to engage with the president on the shutdown after he has spent more time on foreign policy and other issues.
Last week, the president dismissed Democrats’ demands as “crazy,” adding, “We’re just not going to do it.”
North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said Republican senators will discuss strategy with the president at lunch on Tuesday. “Of course we will talk to him about it, he will tell us his ideas and we will talk about ours,” Hoeven said. “We can do everything we can to persuade Democrats to join us” and pass the Republican bill to reopen the government, Hoeven said.
Still, Republican lawmakers expect Trump to stick to his current stance and refuse to negotiate until the government is open.
“Unless they put something reasonable on the table to talk about, I don’t think there’s any reason to talk,” said Louisiana Senator John Kennedy.
Democrats say Trump needs to get more involved so the government can reopen.
“He needs to get off the sidelines, off the golf course,” said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. “We know that Republicans in the House and Senate will do nothing without getting permission from their boss, Donald J. Trump.”
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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Stephen Groves and Matt Brown contributed to this report.
