Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his party are grabbing a new fight with President Trump, a high-stakes bet over the government funding deadline this month, even though they are still out of control in Washington.
The possibility of a government shutdown has prompted Schumer and other prominent Democrats to threaten to take a strong stance with Trump. Republican party leaders are under pressure from members of the party to extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies worth billions of dollars beyond their current expiration date.
On Friday, Schumer informed reporters that Trump would prefer a government shutdown to any discussion with Democrats over reducing the cost of health care for Americans.
However, Democrats are also running a huge electoral risk by adopting such a tough stance.
Many Democrats are ready for a showdown with Trump, and party leaders and members alike are presenting a united front in public. However, behind the scenes, there are those who are concerned about the party’s plan B in the event that Trump and the GOP are unable to compromise. They are worried that a nationwide shutdown will cause chaos, and that Democrats will give in to Republicans’ demands for little in return.
There are no other alternatives, according to one Democratic legislator close to party leadership, who admitted that the party is entering uncharted territory with its shutdown threat.
“I am unable to determine the viability of the strategy for blocking it,” the Democratic lawmaker stated. Nothing else has been effective in halting their progress, and that is the main point. The path must be marked with some tacks.
Still others are more worried about the consequences for Democrats should Trump and his administration start cutting funding for programs like food stamps. “You can’t win this shutdown game,” chimed in a senior adviser to a moderate Democrat.
It is not yet definite that financing will expire on October 1.
Several Republican sources have stated that House and Senate Republican leaders believe Schumer is looking for a way out. Several Democratic sources have stated that even if the higher subsidies are not officially part of a financing agreement, several Democrats still expect that Schumer and Senate Majority Leader John Thune can reach an agreement on them.
With few days to go before the deadline, some interpreted Friday’s Senate votes that doomed both Republican and Democratic measures as bargaining chips rather than genuine fears of a shutdown.
Everyone would be worse off as a result of a government shutdown. “The American people fail and no one wins,” said California’s moderate Rep. Ami Bera in an interview with HEADLINESFOREVER. Due to the possibility of our return, “I wouldn’t make plans on [September] 29 or 30.”
The Republican Party, however, maintains that the current budget package would only keep the government running until the end of November without requiring any discussion of health care.
“Looks to me like it’s this or a shutdown,” Thune said frankly when questioned about the Democrats’ decison.
House Republican Whip Tom Emmer said that the Democrats’ requests over healthcare were ignored by the lawmakers in November.
The next play by Schumer
On Friday, lawmakers departed from Washington without a defined next step.
There will be no further voting until the last possible day, and no one on Capitol Hill has any idea what may happen in the time leading up to that deadline, so both sides are staying firm. However, Democrats are already capitalizing on their spotlight moment and adamantly stating that they will not retreat.
“Donald Trump rejects the idea of engaging in conversation. He’s still acting like a total badass. Schumer informed reporters on Friday that the Republican leadership had urged him to ignore Democrats following their rejection of the GOP’s seven-week temporary measure. “The shutdown is being caused by their refusal to negotiate.”
Schumer has a prominent position here; in the spring, he helped Trump and Republicans keep the government open without offering anything in exchange, which caused a strong reaction among his party. The American people have “seen the damage the Republicans are doing,” he claimed, and “the world is totally changed” this time around.
Republicans still require seven Senate votes to pass a funding package, and Democrats have already stated their intention to oppose the current GOP financing plan. Additionally, Republicans claim they are at a loss for other proposals.
“Our dialogue with the Democrats will go as planned. However, Trump warned reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that the nation may become closed for an extended period of time. (Contrarily, Democrats claim that Trump is completely ignoring them, and on Saturday, Schumer and House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a letter to the president requesting a meeting.)
Several senators and even Jeffries have pushed Schumer to hold firm this time around in the Capitol. Reports indicate that Jeffries is among several party members who saw the budget struggle as an opportunity to publicly oppose Trump and his ideas, with the entire country observing intently, according to those acquainted with his thoughts. Although they claim a shutdown is awful, this is actually their sole bargaining chip with Trump.
A shutdown orchestrated by Republicans. Nearly a hundred of his supporters rallied behind Jeffries as he made a resolute statement from the Capitol steps on Friday, proclaiming their battle for the American people’s health care. Today is the day we shall do it. Tomorrow, we shall attend to that. It will be done next week. It will be taken care of next month. This year, we will accomplish it. “Next year, we will do that.”
In his criticism of Trump and the GOP, Vermont Senator Peter Welch stated that their refusal to work with Democrats on a bipartisan budget package violates years of tradition. “In every other situation we’ve had here, there’s been a negotiation….,” he noted, despite his vehement opposition to a shutdown. With Trump at the helm, everything is different, and he likely wants a government shutdown.
He said, “That’s today,” when asked about the GOP’s pledge to present no change to the funding package. Who knows?
House Democrats would be understandably enraged if Senate Democrats and Schumer accepted a financing arrangement on the Obamacare increased subsidies without enshrining it in a spending statute.
Despite his compromise with Trump on the prior funding package in March, many party members still view Schumer with suspicion. Despite Schumer and Jeffries’ public claims of being in complete agreement this time, not even their closest associates can foretell the future of the two leaders.
“I believe he realized the gravity of his situation in March,” Rep. Ro Khanna told reporters in response to a question about whether Schumer would maintain his stance on the budget measure.
Bernie Sanders, a Democrat from Vermont, was asked the same issue but chose not to answer, saying, “You’d have to ask Mr. Schumer.”
It is uncertain if Schumer can keep the job, according to one senior Democrat who frequently communicates with both party leaders. “We hope so,” the source said. “We have no idea.”
There are some Democrats in the House who are quietly trying to maintain the pressure on the senator from New York. On the morning of the Senate’s major funding vote, a rumor appeared claiming that progressive powerhouse Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is contemplating a primary challenge to Schumer. (Ocasio-Cortez declined to comment when HEADLINESFOREVER asked if she is thinking about running in the 2028 primary.)
For the time being, both camps recognize that a dramatic change in strategy on the part of one side is required to find a solution, but they are also eager to assign blame.
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy stated, “What we’re asking for is super reasonable.” Next week, we will be sent home by the Republicans because they are unwilling to talk with the Democrats. Their desire for a shutdown is quite evident.