The 22-day U.S. government shutdown has become the second longest in history, as the bipartisan impasse over the expiration of health care subsidies persists.
With President Donald Trump expected to travel to Asia later this week, lawmakers and congressional aides say they see a real possibility that the shutdown will extend into November and surpass the 35-day shutdown of Trump’s first term.
A meeting Tuesday at the White House between Trump and Senate Republicans seemed only to strengthen the party’s resolve to refuse negotiations with Democrats, who are demanding, as a condition of reopening the government, that Congress offer relief to 22 million Americans whose health insurance premiums will rise in January.
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“Our message has been very simple: We will not be extorted by their crazy plot,” Trump said.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries asked to meet with Trump before his trip to Asia, but the president said Tuesday night that he would only talk to them after the shutdown ends.
The Senate needs the votes of at least eight Democrats to overcome filibusterism over the House-approved temporary spending bill, which expires on November 21.
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Senate Republican leader John Thune publicly promised Democrats a floor vote to renew the Affordable Care Act’s expanded subsidies after the government reopens. But Democrats, skeptical that the House would pass such a vote, say that is not enough.
“The bottom line is this is not a deal, this is a partisan plan that lets the American people down,” Schumer told reporters.
Economic impact
The economic disruption caused by the shutdown will deepen this week as federal civilian workers, who received partial pay at the beginning of the month, are expected to miss their first full payment on Friday.
The White House also warned that it may not be able to use extraordinary — and potentially illegal — accounting maneuvers to continue paying the military and prevent federal food aid from running out next month.
Anna Wong, chief U.S. economist at Bloomberg Economics, said the shutdown will cause a temporary slight increase in the unemployment rate, but that it will return to 4.3% when the government reopens.
But the effect, he noted, is particularly acute in the Washington region, with its high concentration of federal workers, as well as contractors, suppliers and service companies who will not receive retroactive pay.
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House Republicans have been home since September 19, and House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to keep them away from the Capitol for the rest of October while the shutdown persists. Johnson and his Republican colleagues have said there is no need to change a word in the tentative bill to win support from Democrats.
“There is nothing to negotiate,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday.
Johnson said there could be talks later in the year about expiring subsidies, but conservatives are demanding concessions, including restrictions on Obamacare plans that cover abortion and care for transgender people.
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Meanwhile, the White House threatened to further punish Democrats by canceling federal projects in majority-Democratic states. Trump compared budget director Russell Vought to the powerful Star Wars villain Darth Vader.
So far, the White House budget office has canceled or suspended $28 billion in projects in these areas and attempted mass layoffs in domestic agencies such as the Education, Health and Human Services, and Interior departments. Those layoffs have been temporarily halted by a judge while a court battle decides whether spending money to carry out mass layoffs during a shutdown violates federal budget laws.
These actions have only emboldened Democrats, some of whom are now demanding a check on Vought’s powers in any deal to end the shutdown.
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Discreet talks between moderates in the Senate made no progress. Asked on Tuesday if she saw any way out of the impasse, moderate Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire shook her head.
“None that I see,” she said.
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