President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the Oval Office of the White House on September 2, 2025 in Washington, DC (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump sent mixed messages Monday about whether he would negotiate a deal with Democrats to extend expanded tax credits for people who buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace, one of the key issues that led to the government shutdown.
His comments came shortly before the Senate voted for the fifth time on short-term government financing bills. He voted 45-50 for the Democratic proposal and 52-42 for a Republican stopgap bill passed by the House of Representatives. Both needed at least 60 votes to advance.
Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, both Democrats, as well as Maine Independent Senator Angus King, voted with Republicans to advance their multi-week funding bill. Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul voted no.
Trump said during a news conference that “some very good things could happen when it comes to health care” and that “if we were to do the right deal, I would certainly do a deal,” before sharply criticizing the 2010 health care law, also known as Obamacare.
“That’s the problem with Obamacare. The subsidies are so high – billions and billions of dollars are wasted,” Trump said. “And we could have much better health care than we have now. And we’re talking to them. I’m not saying that’s going to happen.”
Trump focused much of his 2016 presidential campaign on repealing and replacing the health care law, but Republicans were unable to accomplish that with unified control of the government in the first half of his first term.
After Democrats won the 2020 election, they increased tax credits for people who buy health insurance through the ACA Marketplace in a coronavirus relief bill. These increased subsidies are expected to expire at the end of December.
Democratic leaders have been urging Republicans for weeks to negotiate a bipartisan agreement to extend these increased tax credits ahead of open enrollment beginning Nov. 1.
That didn’t happen, and Democrats largely voted against submitting a Republican-authored stopgap bill needed to fund the government beyond the end of September.
“On another planet”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said during a speech shortly before Trump spoke in the Oval Office that the president and GOP leaders “seem to be on another planet.”
“Instead of trying to solve this shutdown crisis, Donald Trump spent the weekend playing golf and posting memes and deepfakes on the internet,” Schumer said. “He seems to think this shutdown is a big joke. He’s wrong.”
Schumer released a statement after Trump’s news conference saying the two sides would not negotiate, although the president said, “We are talking to the Democrats.”
“For months, Democrats have been calling on Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress to come to the table and work with us to achieve lower costs and better health care for the American people,” Schumer wrote. “When President Trump and the Republicans are finally ready to sit down and do something about health care for American families, Democrats will be there – ready to make it happen.”
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said during a morning news conference that he would not negotiate with Democrats on the expanded ACA Marketplace tax credits until after the shutdown ends.
But Johnson indicated he believes the expiring expansion likely needs a resolution before open enrollment begins next month.
“They said some of the insurance companies will be sending out notices in early November. The last time I checked was October 6th. We have the entire month of October,” Johnson said. “We will stay here 24/7 to do all of these things, but we need to reopen the government to do that.”
Discussion about the adoption of draft laws
The House has been in recess since mid-September and Johnson has refused to bring back members until the Senate approves a bill to reopen the government.
Johnson revealed during the news conference that he had a “fruitful conversation” several days ago with Senate Budget Committee member Patty Murray, D-Wash., about the annual state funding process that lawmakers were expected to complete by the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1.
Johnson said he had assured Murray that he would vote on the final bipartisan versions of the dozen bills for the whole year after the Democrats and Republicans responsible for each subcommittee worked out an agreement.
“I’m ready to go,” Johnson said. “But we need to open up the government so it can move to the next level, so the conference committee can do this work. This is small-scale democracy at its best; you get R’s and D’s, everyone in the room, and they discuss it, and whatever the end product is, we’ll see the process through.”
The House passed three of the full-year government funding bills on bipartisan votes and the Senate approved three on a largely bipartisan vote.
Congress’s failure to approve all bills in a timely manner, coupled with its inability to approve a stopgap bill to keep funding on autopilot while lawmakers work out a final deal for the entire year, is the reason for the start of a shutdown.
Democrats say bipartisan talks are needed to end the shutdown
Murray posted on social media later in the day that bipartisan talks between congressional leaders were the best option to end the shutdown.
“I now repeat what I told @SpeakerJohnson: The only path forward begins with him and @LeaderJohnThune speaking to leaders Schumer and Jeffries,” Murray wrote. “This month premiums are going up. We need a deal that reopens the government and stops premiums from doubling.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during an afternoon briefing before Trump’s speech that he is “definitely committed to repairing and improving our health care system” but declined to say whether he supports extending the existing expanded ACA tax credits.
Leavitt also refrained from fully answering questions about when the administration will begin laying off federal workers by the thousands, saying the White House budget office continues to consult with Cabinet secretaries to determine which workers could lose their jobs.
“We’ll see how the vote goes tonight,” Leavitt said, referring to the Senate’s vote Monday night on the stopgap legislation.
Land air service, air traffic controllers
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said during a news conference at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey that the closure means there are just days left for funding for the Essential Air Service program, which provides federal “grants to airlines to serve rural communities.”
“That money runs out this Sunday, so there are a lot of small communities across the country that now don’t have the resources to make sure they have air service in their community,” Duffy said.
Alaska will be hit hardest by this funding gap, he said.
Duffy said there had been a “slight” raise in the number of air traffic controllers calling in unwell during the lockdown, but added that this had not yet caused safety issues. This will all change if transport authorities decide that staffing levels are not sufficient for the number of flights.
“If we determine that there are problems in the tower that are affecting the ability of air traffic controllers to effectively control the airspace, we will reduce the rate and there will be more delays or a cancellation may occur,” Duffy said. “I’m willing to do this before we’re willing to risk anyone’s life in the air.”
Duffy, a former Republican congressman from Wisconsin, said he had spoken to air traffic controllers earlier in the day who were thinking about taking jobs with ride-sharing companies to support pay the bills because they wouldn’t be paid until after the lockdown ends.
He said the impact of the funding loss, including air traffic controllers worrying about how to make ends meet, was problematic, particularly if they were distracted during shifts or exhausted by other jobs.
“I don’t want them to get a second job to pay the bills,” Duffy said. “I want them to be paid for the work they are doing today, keeping our planes in the air and our air safe.”
Duffy also emphasized that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which controls people entering airports, is part of the Department of Homeland Security, not the DOT.
Shauneen Miranda contributed to this report.
