Minnesota senior U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar is hoping it's not too late to make a deal and avoid a government shutdown - now just a day away.
Klobuchar says a meeting between President Donald Trump and congressional leaders is expected to take place Monday, less than a week after a similar round of talks were called off by Trump.
"I am glad the president has finally agreed to meet with the leadership in Congress. He canceled the meeting last week, which I think was a big mistake, and the president prides himself in the art of a deal. This is the moment for him to meet with Democrats and come to an agreement," said Klobuchar who appeared on the CBS program Face the Nation.
Klobuchar and other Senate Democrats have been blocking a funding measure that would keep the government open beyond Tuesday. Democrats are calling for key health care provisions in that bill.
If government funding legislation isn't passed by Congress and signed by Trump on Tuesday night, many government offices across the nation will be temporarily shuttered and nonexempt federal employees will be furloughed, adding to the strain on workers and the nation's economy.
Republicans are daring Democrats to vote against legislation that would keep government funding mostly at current levels, but Democrats have held firm. They're using one of their few points of leverage to demand Congress take up legislation to extend health care benefits.
Klobuchar says they would like to see a compromise and allow those provisions which would extend subsidies. Klobuchar said this isn't an issue where kicking it down the road is an option.
"The tax credits are what really could make a difference here for people because of the fact that we know these premiums hit November 1st," Klobuchar said. Getting this done now is a now thing. It's not a December thing. It's not a January thing. It's not an off ramp. It is something we have to get done now."
Trump has shown little interest in entertaining Democrats' demands on health care, even as he agreed to hold a sit-down meeting Monday with Schumer, along with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. The Republican president has said repeatedly he fully expects the government to enter a shutdown this week.
“If it has to shut down, it’ll have to shut down,” Trump said Friday. “But they’re the ones that are shutting down government.”
The Trump administration has tried to pressure Democratic lawmakers into backing away from their demands, warning that federal employees could be permanently laid off in a funding lapse.
“Chuck Schumer said a few months ago that a government shutdown would be chaotic, harmful and painful. He’s right, and that's why we shouldn't do it,” Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said Sunday on “Meet the Press.”
Still, Democrats argued Trump's agreement to hold a meeting shows he's feeling the pressure to negotiate. They say that because Republicans control the White House and Congress, Americans will mostly blame them for any government shutdown.
But to hold on to their negotiating leverage, Senate Democrats will likely have to vote against a bill to temporarily extend government funding on Tuesday, just hours before a shutdown — an uncomfortable position for a party that has long denounced shutdowns as pointless and destructive.
The bill has already passed the Republican-controlled House and would keep the government funded for seven more weeks while Congress works on annual spending legislation.
Any legislation to fund the government will need support from at least 60 senators. That means that at least eight Democrats would have to vote for the short-term funding bill, because Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is expected to vote against it.
During the last potential government shutdown in March, Schumer and nine other Democrats voted to break a filibuster and allow a Republican-led funding bill to advance to a final vote. The New York Democrat faced fierce backlash from many in his own party for that decision, with some even calling for him to step down as Democratic leader.
This time, Schumer appears resolute.
“We’re hearing from the American people that they need help on health care and as for these massive layoffs, guess what? Simple one-sentence answer: They’re doing it anyway,” he said.
Democrats are pushing for an extension to Affordable Care Act tax credits that have subsidized health insurance for millions of people since the COVID-19 pandemic. The credits, which are designed to expand coverage for low- and middle-income people, are set to expire at the end of the year.
Some Republicans are open to extending the tax credits but want changes. Thune said Sunday that the program is “desperately in need of reform” and Republicans want to address “waste, fraud and abuse.” He has pressed Democrats to vote for the funding bill and take up the debate on tax credits later.
It remains to be seen whether the White House meeting will help or hurt the chances for a resolution. Negotiations between Trump and Democratic congressional leaders have rarely gone well, and Trump has had little contact with the opposing party during his second term.
The most recent negotiation in August between Schumer and the president to speed the pace of Senate confirmation votes for administration officials ended with Trump telling Schumer to “go to hell” in a social media post.
Trump also abruptly canceled a meeting that was planned with congressional leaders last week, calling Democrats' demands “unserious and ridiculous.”
Schumer argued that the White House coming back to reschedule a meeting for Monday showed that “they felt the heat.”