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Shutdown Could Become Longest Ever 11/03 06:09
The government shutdown is poised to become the longest ever this week as
the impasse between Democrats and Republicans has dragged into a new month.
Millions of people could lose food aid benefits, health care subsidies are set
to expire and there are few real talks between the parties over how to end it.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government shutdown is poised to become the longest
ever this week as the impasse between Democrats and Republicans has dragged
into a new month. Millions of people could lose food aid benefits, health care
subsidies are set to expire and there are few real talks between the parties
over how to end it.
President Donald Trump said in an interview aired on Sunday that he "won't
be extorted" by Democrats who are demanding negotiations to extend the
Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of the year for millions
of Americans. Echoing congressional Republicans, the president said on CBS' "60
Minutes" he'll negotiate only when the government is reopened.
Trump's comments signal the shutdown could drag on for some time as federal
workers, including air traffic controllers, are set to miss additional
paychecks and there's uncertainty over whether 42 million Americans who receive
federal food aid will be able to access the assistance. Senate Democrats have
voted 13 times against reopening the government, insisting they need Trump and
Republicans to negotiate with them first.
The president said Democrats "have lost their way" and predicted they'll
capitulate to Republicans.
"I think they have to," Trump said. "And if they don't vote, it's their
problem."
He also reiterated his pleas to Republican leaders to change Senate rules
and scrap the filibuster. Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected that idea
since Trump's first term, arguing the rule requiring 60 votes to overcome any
objections in the Senate is vital to the institution and has allowed them to
stop Democratic policies when they're in the minority.
"Republicans have 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, appears likely to become the longest in history.
The previous record was set in 2019, when Trump demanded Congress give him
money for a U.S.-Mexico border wall.
A potentially decisive week
Trump's push on the filibuster could prove a distraction for Senate Majority
Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Republican senators who've opted instead to stay
the course as the consequences of the shutdown become more acute.
Republicans are hoping at least some Democrats will eventually give them the
votes they need as moderates have been in weekslong talks with rank-and-file
Republicans about potential 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 a backbone to say we care more about the lives of the
American people than about gaining some political leverage," Thune said on the
Senate floor as the Senate left Washington for the weekend on Thursday.
Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, said on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday
there's a group of people talking about "a path to fix the health care debacle"
and a commitment from Republicans not to fire more federal workers. But it's
unclear if those talks could produce a meaningful compromise.
Far apart on Obamacare subsidies
Trump said in the "60 Minutes" interview the Affordable Care Act -- often
known as Obamacare because it was signed and championed by then-President
Barack Obama -- is "terrible" and if the Democrats vote to reopen the
government, "we will work on fixing the bad health care that we have right now."
Democrats feel differently, arguing the marketplaces set up by the ACA are
working as record numbers of Americans have signed up for the coverage. But
they want to extend subsidies first enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic so
premiums won't go up for millions of people on Jan. 1.
"We want to sit down with Thune, with (House Speaker Mike) Johnson, with
Trump, and negotiate a way to address this horrible health care crisis," Senate
Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said last week.
No appetite for bipartisanship
As Democrats have pushed Trump and Republicans to negotiate, Trump has
showed little interest in doing so. He called for an end to the Senate
filibuster after a trip to Asia while the government was shut down.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on "Sunday Morning Futures" on
Fox News Channel the president has spoken directly to Thune and Johnson about
the filibuster. But a spokesman for Thune said Friday that his position hasn't
changed, and Johnson said on Sunday that Republicans traditionally have
resisted calling for an end to the filibuster because it protects them from
"the worst impulses of the far-left Democrat Party."
Trump said on "60 Minutes" he likes Thune but "I disagree with him on this
point."
The president has spent much of the shutdown mocking Democrats, posting
videos of House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries in a Mexican sombrero. The
White House website has 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 page reads.
Democrats have repeatedly said that they need Trump to get serious and weigh
in. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said that he hopes the shutdown could end "this
week" because Trump is back in Washington.
Republicans "can't move on anything without a Trump sign off," Warner said
on "Face the Nation" on CBS.
Record-breaking shutdown
The 35-day shutdown that lasted from December 2018 to January 2019 ended
when Trump retreated from his demands over a border wall. That came amid
intensifying delays at the nation's airports and multiple missed paydays for
hundreds of thousands of federal workers.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on ABC's "This Week" that there
have already been delays at several airports "and it's only going to get worse."
Many of the workers are "confronted with a decision," he said. "Do I put
food on my kids' table, do I put gas in the car, do I pay my rent or do I go to
work and not get paid?"
As flight delays around the country increased, New York City's emergency
management department posted on Sunday that Newark Airport was under a ground
delay because of "staffing shortages in the control tower" and that they were
limiting arrivals to the airport.
"The average delay is about 2 hours, and some flights are more than 3 hours
late," the account posted. "FAA planning notes show a possibility of a full
ground stop later if staffing shortages or demand increases."
SNAP crisis
Also in the crossfire are the 42 million Americans who receive SNAP
benefits. The Department of Agriculture planned to withhold $8 billion needed
for payments to the food program starting on Saturday until two federal judges
ordered the administration to fund it.
House Democratic leader Jeffries, D-N.Y., accused Trump and Republicans of
attempting to "weaponize hunger." He said that the administration has managed
to find ways for funding other priorities during the shutdown, but is
slow-walking pushing out SNAP benefits despite the court orders.
"But somehow they can't find money to make sure that Americans don't go
hungry," Jeffries said in an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in his own CNN appearance Sunday, said the
administration continues to await direction from the courts.
"The best way for SNAP benefits to get paid is for Democrats -- for five
Democrats to cross the aisle and reopen the government," Bessent said.
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