Donald Trump on Tuesday said a government shutdown was “probably likely”, after talks between congressional leaders on continuing funding ahead of a midnight deadline appeared to yield little progress.
Congress’s Republican majority is pushing legislation to fund the government through 21 November, but Democrats have refused to vote for it unless it includes a series of concessions centered on healthcare.
The president convened an Oval Office meeting of the two party’s congressional leaders on Monday evening, but it concluded with no signs of a breakthrough. Asked at the White House on Tuesday afternoon if a shutdown is inevitable, Trump replied: “Nothing is inevitable, but I would say it’s probably likely,” before going on to falsely accuse Democrats of wanting to provide healthcare to undocumented immigrants.
Republicans passed their funding bill through the House of Representatives on a near party-line vote earlier this month, but it requires at least some Democratic support to advance in the Senate.
In exchange for their votes, the minority party is demanding an extension of subsidies for Affordable Care Act (ACA) health plans, which expire at the end of the year. They also want to undo Republican cuts to Medicaid, the program providing healthcare to poor and disabled Americans, and public media outlets.
Chuck Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, has described the end of the ACA subsidies and Medicaid cuts as a “crisis” for healthcare, and said on the Senate floor Tuesday: “The Republicans have until midnight tonight to get serious with us about solving this crisis and keep the government open, but right now they’re not even talking to us seriously. They’re sort of in la la land.”
After their meeting, Trump posted on social media an AI-generated video of Schumer making derogatory remarks about Democrats alongside the top House Democrat, Hakeem Jeffries, who was depicted wearing a sombrero and mustache. “The president is busy trolling away on the internet like a 10-year-old, and that’s exactly why Americans are going to blame him if the government shuts down,” Schumer said.
Republican congressional leaders have shown no signs of shifting in their demands for a vote on their spending bill, which they say is intended to give appropriators more time to reach an agreement on long-term government spending.
“This is purely and simply hostage-taking on behalf of the Democrats,” said John Thune, the Senate majority leader.
Speaker Mike Johnson has kept the House on recess for the past week and a half in a bid to pressure the Democrats into accepting the spending bill that the GOP passed earlier this month. When the House held a brief procedural session at noon on Tuesday, Democrats filled the chamber in a failed effort to force consideration of their own bill to fund the government through October while also addressing their healthcare priorities.
Republican congressman Morgan Griffith swiftly gaveled the chamber out of session, prompting boos from the Democratic lawmakers.
“Just a moment ago, I put forward a plan to keep the government open. Republicans tanked it so they could remain on vacation while Americans struggle with the health care crisis they’ve created,” Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the appropriations committee, said after the session concluded.
A shutdown would begin Wednesday at midnight, and see federal agencies curtail operations and keep employees home. Last week, the White House Office of Management and Budget released a memo saying it would exploit a lapse in funding to carry out more mass firings as part of its crusade to slash government bureaucracy.
Polling from Morning Consult released Monday found that 45% of voters would blame congressional Republicans for a shutdown, while 32% would blame the Democrats.
