WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican and Democratic lawmakers have provided few public signs of meaningful negotiations to break an impasse on reopening the federal government as the shutdown entered its sixth day on Monday.
President Donald Trump, when asked on Sunday night when federal workers would be fired as he has threatened, told reporters: “It’s taking place right now, and it’s all because of the Democrats.” He declined to answer a question about which agencies are subject to the cuts.
The possibility of layoffs escalates an already tense situation in which Washington lawmakers have struggled to find common ground and build mutual trust. Leaders in both parties are betting that public sentiment has swung their way, putting pressure on the other side to cave.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is expected to hold a Monday morning news conference at the Capitol, and others may do so as well.
The House is not expected to be in session this week, focusing attention on the Senate to take the lead on any deal in the Republican-led Congress. Yet even with House lawmakers away, the Republican and Democratic leaders have been holding almost daily briefings as they frame their arguments and seek to shift blame for the shutdown.
Democrats are insisting on renewing subsidies to cover health insurance costs for millions of households, while Trump wants to preserve existing spending levels as he believes that Democrats will have to fold because of the jobs and federal infrastructure and energy projects being put at risk.
The stalemate comes at a moment of troubling economic uncertainty. While the U.S. economy has continued to grow this year, hiring has slowed and inflation remains elevated as the Republican president's import taxes have created a series of disruptions for businesses and hurt confidence in his leadership. At the same time, there is a recognition that the nearly $2 trillion annual budget deficit is financially unsustainable.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, among those appearing on the Sunday news shows, said there have been no talks with Republican leaders since their White House meeting on Sept. 29. He said since then Republicans, including Trump, “have gone radio silent.”
The Trump administration sees the shutdown as an opening to wield greater power over the budget, with multiple officials saying they will save money as workers are furloughed by imposing permanent job cuts on thousands of government workers, a tactic that has never been used before.
Even though it would be Trump's choice to cut jobs, he believes he can put the blame on the Democrats because of the shutdown.
Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California defended his party's stance on the shutdown, saying the possible increase in health care costs for millions of Americans would make insurance unaffordable in what he called a “crisis.”
But Schiff also noted that the Trump administration has stopped congressionally approved spending. That essentially undermines the value of Democrats trying to seek compromises on the budget since the administration could block the spending of money from any deal. The Trump administration sent Congress roughly $4.9 billion in what are called pocket rescissions on foreign aid, a process that meant the money was withheld without time for Congress to weigh in before the previous fiscal year ended last month.
“We need both to address the health care crisis, and we need some written assurance in the law — I won’t take a promise — that they’re not going to renege on any deal we make,” Schiff said.
The television appearances indicated that Democrats and Republicans are busy talking, deploying against each other internet memes that have raised concerns about whether it's possible to negotiate in good faith.
Vice President JD Vance said a video putting Jeffries in a sombrero and a thick mustache was simply a joke, even though it came across as mocking people of Mexican descent as Republicans insist the Democratic demands would lead to health care spending on immigrants in the country illegally, a claim Democrats dispute.
Immigrants in the U.S. illegally are not eligible for any federal health care programs, including insurance provided through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid. Still, hospitals receive Medicaid reimbursements for emergency care they are obligated to provide to people who meet other Medicaid eligibility requirements but don't have an eligible immigration status.
The challenge, however, is that the two parties do not appear to be having productive conversations with each other in private, even as Republicans insist they are in conversation with their Democratic colleagues.
On Friday, a Senate vote to advance a Republican bill that would reopen the government failed to notch the necessary 60 votes to end a filibuster in the 100-member chamber.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said Sunday that the shutdown on discretionary spending, the furloughing of federal workers and requirements that other federal employees work without pay will go on so long as Democrats vote no.
“They’ll get another chance on Monday to vote again,” Thune said. “And I’m hoping that some of them have a change of heart.”
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Jeffries and Schiff appeared on NBC's “Meet the Press,” and Thune was on Fox News Channel's “Sunday Morning Futures.”