WASHINGTON (AP) — The government shutdown has reached its 36th day, the longest on record and disrupting the lives of millions of Americans through cuts to federal programs, flight delays and federal workers across the country without paychecks.
President Donald Trump has refused to negotiate with Democrats over their demands to rescue expiring health insurance subsidies until they agree to reopen the government. But skeptical Democrats wonder whether the Republican president will keep his word, especially after the administration restricted SNAP food aid despite court orders to ensure hunger prevention funds are available.
Trump, whose first term in the White House set the all-time government shutdown record, will meet Republican senators for breakfast early Wednesday. However, no talks with the Democrats are planned.
“Why is this happening? We are in a gridlock because our colleagues are unwilling to come to the table to talk about one simple thing: health care premiums,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said in a speech delayed in the evening.
“Stop this mess, come to the table and negotiate,” she said.
With Trump largely on the sidelines, talks have intensified among a loose coalition of centrist senators trying to negotiate an end to the standoff. There are robust expectations that the deadlock will be broken once election results are fully tallied in Tuesday’s off-year polls, which were widely seen as a gauge of voter sentiment ahead of Trump’s second term in the White House. Democrats won key races for governor in Virginia and New Jersey and mayor of New York City, sure to upend political perceptions.
But earlier in the afternoon, Senate Democrats left an hours-long private session stone-faced, unsure of what to do next.
“We are exploring all options,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said afterwards.
Trump sets another shutdown record
Trump’s approach to this shutdown is a stark contrast to his first term, when the government was partially shut down for 35 days over his demands for money to build the U.S.-Mexico border wall. At the time, he was meeting publicly and negotiating with congressional leaders, but unable to secure the funds, he relented in 2019.
This time it’s not just Trump who is refusing to take part in talks. Congressional leaders are in a stalemate and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent lawmakers home in September after they approved their own funding bill and declined further negotiations.
Meanwhile, food assistance, child care benefits and countless other government services are being severely disrupted, and hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed or are expected to report to work without pay.
Transport Minister Sean Duffy predicted there could be chaos in the skies next week if air traffic controllers miss another paycheck. Unions are putting pressure on lawmakers to reopen the government.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said this was not only the longest shutdown but also “the most severe shutdown ever.”
The Republican leader has urged Democrats to accept his overtures, vote on the health care issue and continue negotiating a solution after the government reopens, arguing that politically no one will win from the stalemate.
“Shutdowns are stupid,” Thune said.
Senators are looking for a possible deal
At the heart of any endgame will be a series of agreements that would have to be honored not only by the Senate, but also by the House of Representatives and the White House, which is not at all certain in Washington.
First, senators from both parties, particularly influential members of the Appropriations Committee, are pushing to get the normal government funding process back on track in Congress.
Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chairwoman of the Senate Budget Committee, and Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., as well as several Democrats, including Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Chris Coons of Delaware, are working behind the scenes.
“The pace of the conversation has increased,” said Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who was involved in the talks.
The goals include securing upcoming votes on a smaller package of bills that already have widespread bipartisan agreement to fund various aspects of government, such as agricultural programs and military construction projects on bases.
“I certainly believe that the three-bill package is poised to do a lot of good for the American people,” said Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who was also involved in discussions.
Healthcare costs are rising by millions
More difficultly, a significant number of senators also want a solution to the stalemate over funding for Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year.
Millions of Americans are shocked by skyrocketing insurance premium notices. The loss of enhanced federal subsidies introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which were provided in the form of tax credits, is expected to leave many people unable to obtain health insurance.
Republicans are reluctant to fund the health care program, also known as Obamacare, without reforms, but negotiating a compromise with Democrats is expected to take time, if a deal can be reached at all.
Thune has promised Democrats at least a vote on their preferred health care proposal at some point as part of an agreement to reopen the government. But that isn’t enough for some senators, who see the health care gridlock as part of their broader concerns about Trump’s direction for the country.
The White House says its position remains unchanged and that Democrats must vote to fund the government before talks on health care can begin. White House officials are in close contact with Republican senators who have spoken quietly to key Senate Democrats, according to a senior White House official. The official was granted anonymity to discuss administration strategy.
Trump’s calls to end the filibuster are failing
The president has urged senators to nuke the filibuster — the Senate rule that requires 60 votes to advance most legislation — to reopen the government.
Republican senators have softened Trump’s calls for an end to the filibuster, marking a scarce public break with the president. Thune and others argue that the Senate rule, while annoying at times, ensures that the minority party can control the government, which is crucial as power shifts in Washington.
But in the current Senate, where Republicans hold a slim 53-47 majority, Democrats were able to block the House-passed government funding bill after voting against it more than a dozen times.
Trump has said that eliminating the filibuster would be a way for Republicans to bypass Democrats and end the shutdown on their own. Republican senators are trying to avoid that outcome.
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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Stephen Groves, Seung Min Kim and Matt Brown contributed to this report.
