WASHINGTON (AP) — This week’s government shutdown looks set to become the longest on record as the impasse between Democrats and Republicans stretches into a modern month. Millions of people could lose food aid, health subsidies are expiring and there are few real conversations between parties about how to end them.
President Donald Trump said in an interview broadcast Sunday that he will “not allow himself to be blackmailed” by Democrats who are calling for negotiations to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of the year for millions of Americans. Echoing Republicans in Congress, the president said on CBS’s “60 Minutes” that he would not negotiate until the government returns to power.
Trump’s comments suggest the shutdown could drag on for some time, with federal workers including air traffic controllers expected to miss out on additional paychecks and uncertainty over whether 42 million Americans receiving federal food aid will be able to access that assistance. Senate Democrats have voted against reopening the government 13 times, insisting that Trump and Republicans must negotiate with them first.
The president said Democrats had “lost the path” and predicted they would capitulate to Republicans.
“I think they have to,” Trump said. “And if they don’t vote, that’s their problem.”
He also repeated his calls for Republican leaders to change Senate rules and eliminate the filibuster. Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected that idea since Trump’s first term, arguing that the rule requiring 60 votes to overcome any objections in the Senate was critical to the institution and allowed them to stop Democrats’ policies when they were in the minority.
“Republicans need to get tougher,” Trump told CBS. “If we end the filibuster, we can do exactly what we want.”
With the two parties at a standstill, the shutdown, now in its 33rd day and approaching its sixth week, is likely to become the longest in history. The previous record was set in 2019 when Trump demanded Congress give him money for a border wall between the US and Mexico.
A potentially crucial week
Trump’s push for the filibuster could prove a distraction for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Republican senators who have instead opted to stay the course as the fallout from the shutdown becomes more acute.
Republicans are hoping at least some Democrats will eventually give them the votes they need, as moderates have spent weeks in talks with rank-and-file Republicans about possible compromises that could guarantee votes on health care in exchange for reopening the government. Republicans need five additional Democrats to pass their bill.
“We need five with backbone who will say we care more about the lives of the American people than political influence,” Thune said on the Senate floor as the Senate left Washington for the weekend on Thursday.
Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that a group of people were talking about “a path to fixing the health care debacle” and a commitment from Republicans not to lay off more federal workers. However, it is unclear whether these talks could lead to a meaningful compromise.
Far apart on Obamacare subsidies
Trump said in the “60 Minutes” interview that the Affordable Care Act – often known as Obamacare because it was signed and championed by then-President Barack Obama – was “terrible” and that if Democrats vote to reopen the government, “we will work to improve the poor health care that we currently have.”
Democrats disagree, arguing that the marketplaces created by the ACA are working because record numbers of Americans have signed up for coverage. But they want to extend subsidies first introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic so that millions of people’s premiums don’t rise on January 1.
“We want to sit down with Thune, with (House Speaker Mike) Johnson and with Trump and negotiate a way to address this terrible health crisis,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said last week.
No desire for bipartisanship
While Democrats pushed Trump and Republicans to negotiate, Trump showed little interest in doing so. He called for an end to the Senate filibuster after a trip to Asia while the government was closed.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that the president spoke directly with Thune and Johnson about the filibuster. But a spokesman for Thune said Friday that his position had not changed, and Johnson said Sunday that Republicans have traditionally resisted calling for an end to the filibuster because it protects them from “the worst impulses of the far-left Democratic Party.”
Trump said on “60 Minutes” that he likes Thune, but “I don’t agree with him on that point.”
The president spent much of the shutdown mocking Democrats and posting videos of House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries in a Mexican sombrero. The White House website features a satirical “My Space” page for Democrats, a parody based on the social media site that was popular in the early 2000s. “We just love playing politics with people’s livelihoods,” the site says.
Democrats have repeatedly said they need Trump to get grave and take a stand. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said he hoped the shutdown could end “this week” because Trump was back in Washington.
Republicans “can’t get anywhere without Trump’s approval,” Warner said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Record-breaking shutdown
The 35-day shutdown, which lasted from December 2018 to January 2019, ended when Trump backed away from his demands for a border wall. This came amid increasing delays at the country’s airports and multiple missed paychecks for hundreds of thousands of federal employees.
Transport Minister Sean Duffy told ABC’s This Week that there had already been delays at several airports, “and it’s only getting worse.”
Many of the workers are “facing a decision,” he said. “Do I put food on my children’s table, put gas in the car, pay my rent, or go to work and not get paid?”
As flight delays mounted across the country, the City of New York’s Emergency Management Department announced Sunday that Newark Airport was experiencing a ground delay due to a “shortage of staff in the control tower” and that arrivals at the airport would be constrained.
“The average delay is about two hours, and some flights are delayed by more than three hours,” the account said. “The FAA’s planning notes indicate the possibility of a full stop later if staffing shortages or increased demand occur.”
SNAP crisis
Also in the crossfire are the 42 million Americans who receive SNAP benefits. The Agriculture Department planned to withhold $8 billion needed for payments to the food program starting Saturday until two federal judges ordered the government to fund it.
House Democratic leader Jeffries, D-N.Y., accused Trump and Republicans of trying to “weaponize hunger.” He said the government had managed to find ways to fund other priorities during the shutdown but was moving slowly toward enforcing SNAP benefits despite the court orders.
“But somehow they can’t find money to make sure Americans don’t go hungry,” Jeffries said in an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in his own CNN appearance on Sunday that the government continues to wait for instructions from the courts.
“The best way to pay out SNAP benefits is for Democrats – if five Democrats walk down the aisle and reopen the government,” Bessent said.
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Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.
