Republicans, Democrats bracing for a protracted authorities shutdown – NBC New York

On the two-week mark, Republicans and Democrats are bracing for a protracted authorities shutdown, with each events seeing extra upside in persisting with their conflicting calls for.

Because of this, neither aspect is keen to provide an inch within the standoff, now the fifth-longest shutdown within the nation’s historical past.

Republicans say their message is straightforward: Senate Democrats ought to vote for the short-term funding invoice to reopen the federal government that handed the Home final month and pursue their coverage calls for individually. They accuse Democrats of holding the federal government “hostage” to their objectives.

However Democrats are desirous to proceed a nationwide debate they’ve pressured a few looming well being care cliff, by demanding any funding invoice be tied to addressing expiring Obamacare subsidies. The well being care cash is standard, even amongst self-described MAGA supporters, and has divided Republicans — though they’re unified in saying it should be handled individually, exterior the context of a authorities funding invoice.

“It looks like each events are digging their trenches and getting ready for a protracted battle,” mentioned Ian Russell, a former nationwide political director for the Democratic Congressional Marketing campaign Committee. “That is Washington, so issues can clearly change in a short time. However you get the sense from management suites on each side that each events really feel like they’re both maximizing their strengths or definitely not exposing themselves to critical vulnerabilities.”

The Senate on Tuesday evening voted for the eighth time to reject the GOP’s short-term funding invoice, which required 60 votes to advance. The vote was 49-45, with no senators altering their positions from current previous votes. Republicans want at the very least 5 extra Democrats to interrupt a filibuster and have made no progress because the shutdown started.

On Wednesday, the Senate will vote for a ninth time on the Home-passed stopgap invoice, which might fund the federal government by means of Nov. 21.

Russell mentioned Democrats see the Obamacare funding as a approach to “reset the narrative” and “unite” a celebration that has clashed about the best way ahead after their devastating defeat in 2024.

Home Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., slammed the expiring Obamacare subsidies on the heart of the federal government funding standoff as a “boondoggle” because the shutdown approaches the two-week mark endlessly.

“We took again the Home in 2018 whereas campaigning on well being care. We’re capable of unite the factions in our personal path after we’re speaking about well being care,” Russell mentioned. “For Democratic management it is smart to have this struggle now, on these phrases.”

Earlier this week, Home Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., mentioned the nation may very well be “barreling towards one of many longest shutdowns in American historical past.”

Current polls present that extra voters are usually blaming President Donald Trump and Republicans for the shutdown than Democrats. However a Reuters/Ipsos survey launched final week confirmed that clear majorities of People are putting “at the very least a good quantity” of blame on Trump, Republicans and Democrats.

The general public opinion deficit for the GOP is slim sufficient to not transfer them off their place — significantly as Trump has taken on a posture of all-out political struggle with Democrats, together with by telling GOP leaders to not trouble negotiating with the opposition within the run-up to the shutdown.

On Tuesday, Johnson insisted — once more — that he gained’t negotiate with Democrats on their calls for as a result of Home Republicans have already handed a stopgap funding measure with no extraneous coverage provisions.

“I don’t have something to barter. … We didn’t load up the momentary funding invoice with any Republican priorities or partisan priorities in any respect. I don’t have something that I can take off of that doc to make it extra palatable for them,” Johnson advised reporters at his day by day shutdown information convention within the Capitol.

“So all I’m able to do is come to this microphone each day, look proper underneath the digicam and plead with the American folks … to name your Senate Democrats and ask them to do the best factor,” he continued. “We’re not enjoying video games; they’re enjoying a sport.”

Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., praised Senate Democrats on Tuesday for persevering with to dam the GOP funding invoice, whereas saying he is “flummoxed” that Home Republicans are holding the chamber in recess for a fourth consecutive week.

He mentioned Democrats aren’t intimidated by the White Home’s makes an attempt to put off federal employees.

“For the Republicans, cruelty is the purpose,” Jeffries mentioned. “And the truth that they’re celebrating, that means the extremist, the acute MAGA Republicans, the truth that they’re celebrating firing hard-working federal staff doesn’t strengthen their place with the American folks. It weakens it as a result of the American folks don’t settle for that form of merciless and callous conduct.”

Home Speaker Mike Johnson and Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries talk about their events’ stances on the persevering with authorities shutdown.

The confrontation between the occasion leaders comes as Trump and his administration have begun to mitigate a few of the crucial ache factors of the shutdown that have been anticipated to drive the 2 sides to the negotiating desk.

A meals support program aiding ladies, infants and youngsters had been set to expire of cash due to the shutdown, however Trump officers mentioned they might shift $300 million in tariff income to the WIC program to maintain it operating quickly.

This Wednesday was a key date, with greater than 1 million active-duty service members set to overlook their first paycheck because of the shutdown deadlock. However Trump directed Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth to transfer cash round once more to make sure the troops bought paid.

Tons of of hundreds civilian federal employees, nonetheless, have missed a part of their paychecks and can miss a full paycheck on Oct. 24. And lots of authorities contractors additionally will not be being paid through the shutdown, and will not obtain backpay in contrast to federal employees.

Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday representing Maryland and Virginia — states with a lot of federal employees — railed towards what they described as Trump’s “unlawful” transfer Friday to fireplace roughly 4,000 federal employees by means of a “discount in drive,” or RIF.

“That is unjust. It’s unjustified, and that is the sensation that we’ve woke up with this morning,” Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., mentioned in her message to federal employees. “However I would like them to acknowledge that one other morning is unquestionably coming, that none of that is sustainable. This evil can’t final.”

Talking to reporters on the White Home, Trump threatened to inflict extra ache on the opposition by shutting down “Democrat applications.”

“So we’re closing up applications which are Democrat applications that we wished to shut up … and we’re not going to allow them to come again. The Democrats are getting killed, and we’re going to have an inventory of them on Friday,” Trump mentioned. “We’re not closing up Republican applications as a result of we expect they work.”

Throughout a authorities shutdown, federal contractors face a novel scenario. They’ve the troublesome job of attempting to satisfy obligations to their staff although the work and funding for these contracts has ceased. News4’s Jackie Bensen studies.