The government shutdown yesterday entered its 36th day, breaking the record as the longest ever and disrupting the lives of millions of Americans with federal program cuts, flight delays and federal workers nationwide left without paychecks.
US President Donald Trump has refused to negotiate with Democrats over their demands to salvage expiring health insurance subsidies until they agree to reopen the government.
Skeptical Democrats question whether the Republican president will keep his word, particularly after the administration restricted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food aid, despite court orders to ensure funds are available to prevent hunger.
Photo: AP
Trump, whose first term at the White House set the previous government shutdown record, was early yesterday set to meet with Republican senators for breakfast, but no talks have been scheduled with the Democrats.
“Why is this happening? We’re in a shutdown because our colleagues are unwilling to come to the table to talk about one simple thing: healthcare premiums,” US Senator Amy Klobuchar said in a late evening speech.
“Stop this mess, come to the table, negotiate it,” 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 stalemate. Expectations are high that the logjam would break once election results were fully tallied in Tuesday’s off-year races that were widely watched as a gauge of voter sentiment over Trump’s second term in the White House. Democrats swept key contests for governor in Virginia and New Jersey, and New York City mayor, certain to shake up the political assessments.
However, earlier in the afternoon, US Senate Democrats left an hours-long private meeting stone-faced, with no certain path forward.
“We’re exploring all the options,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said afterward.
Trump’s approach to this shutdown stands in marked contrast to his first term, when the government was partially closed for 35 days over his demands for funds to build the US-Mexico border wall. At that time, he met publicly and negotiated with congressional leaders, but unable to secure the funds, he relented in 2019.
This time, it is not just Trump declining to engage in talks. The congressional leaders are at a standoff and US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson sent lawmakers home in September after they approved their own funding bill, refusing further negotiations.
In the meantime, food aid, childcare funds and countless other government services are being severely interrupted, while hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed or expected to come to work without pay.
US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy predicted there could be chaos in the skies next week if air traffic controllers miss another paycheck.
US Senate Majority Leader John Thune said this has been not only the longest shutdown, but also “the most severe shutdown on record.”
The Republican leader has urged the Democrats to accept his overtures to vote on the healthcare issue and keep negotiating a solution once the government reopens, arguing that no one wins politically from the standoff.
“Shutdowns are stupid,” Thune said.
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