‘Will they change course?’: US Senate in stalemate over government shutdown

“ Well, the shutdown melodrama continues.”

That’s how, with the verbal equivalent of a sigh, Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana summed up the 3rd time of the United States authorities shutdown.

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On Friday, the US Senate reconvened earlier a play recess to ballot yet again connected a continuing solution that would support the authorities funded done November 21.

Republicans person touted the solution arsenic a “clean” fund bill, maintaining the presumption quo. But Democrats person said they volition garbage to see immoderate measure that does not see healthcare spending.

By the extremity of the year, subsidies nether the Affordable Care Act are slated to expire, a information expected to origin security premiums to spike for galore Americans. And Democrats person called connected Republicans to reconsider cuts to Medicaid, the authorities security programme for low-income households, pursuing the transition of a measure earlier this twelvemonth that narrows its requirements.

But the effect has been an impasse connected Capitol Hill, with some parties exchanging blasted and nary solution successful sight. Frustration was disposable connected some sides.

“This shutdown is bone-deep, down-to-the-marrow stupid,” Kennedy said from the Senate floor.

For a 4th clip connected Friday, Democrats rejected the Republicans’ proposal, which antecedently passed the House of Representatives on enactment lines.

Only 3 senators splintered from the enactment caucus: Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Democrat John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Independent Angus King of Maine.

On the Republican side, Senator Rand Paul besides refused to ballot alongside members of his party. His concern, helium said, was however the spending would lend to national debt.

The effect was a ballot of 54 to 44 successful the 100-seat Senate chamber, acold abbreviated of the 60 votes Republicans request to flooded a Democratic filibuster to scuttle the bill.

As a counterproposal, Democrats enactment guardant a measure that would spot much than $1 trillion dedicated to healthcare spending. But that excessively floundered successful a Senate vote.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson walks done the Capitol connected October 3 [J Scott Applewhite/AP Photo]

Finger-pointing connected Capitol Hill

In a quality league afterwards, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the stalemate could lone beryllium breached if the Republicans changed their maneuver and negotiated connected the question of healthcare.

“Today we saw the Republicans tally the aforesaid play, and they got the aforesaid result. The question is: Will they alteration course?” helium told reporters.

Schumer accused Republicans of having “wasted a week” with 4 votes that ended successful the aforesaid result.

“ My caucus and Democrats are adamant that we indispensable support the healthcare of the American people,” helium said. “ Instead of trying to travel to the array and negociate with Democrats and reopen the government, the White House and chap Republicans person vowed to marque this a ‘maximum pain’ shutdown.”

Republican leaders, meanwhile, accused the Democrats of attempting to bog down the process alternatively of proceeding with the presumption quo.

House Speaker Mike Johnson besides argued that programmes similar Medicaid were successful hopeless request of reform.

“Medicaid has been rife with fraud and abuse, and truthful we reformed it. Why? To assistance supply much and amended wellness services for the American people,” helium said astatine a quality conference. “ We had truthful galore radical connected Medicaid that ne'er were intended to beryllium there.”

Johnson accused Schumer of attempting to entreaty to the progressive subdivision of the Democratic Party, successful anticipation of a 2028 superior for his Senate seat: “ He’s got to amusement that he’s warring Republicans.”

Both sides of the aisle, however, expressed sympathy for the national workers caught successful the mediate of the shutdown.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that astir 750,000 are facing furloughs each time the shutdown continues. Others are required to support moving without pay.

The full compensation for the furloughed employees amounts to astir $400m per day, according to the fund office’s statistics. Thanks to a 2019 law, the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, national employees volition yet person backpay — but lone aft the shutdown concludes.

Pressure tactics

In an effort to unit the Democrats to walk the continuing resolution, Johnson issued a announcement connected Friday day that the House of Representatives would not instrumentality to league until October 14 astatine earliest.

Instead, his memo called connected representatives to prosecute successful a “district enactment period”, distant from the US capital.

That announcement was designed to spot unit connected the Senate to enactment connected the continuing solution the House had already passed. Prior to Johnson’s announcement, the House had been expected to resume its enactment successful the Capitol connected October 7.

Meanwhile, John Thune, the Senate bulk leader, indicated helium would beryllium consenting to measurement the Democrats’ concerns astir healthcare, but lone erstwhile the authorities was reopened.

Still, helium made nary warrant that the expiring healthcare subsidies would beryllium re-upped if the Democrats did relent.

“ We can’t marque commitments oregon promises connected the COVID subsidies due to the fact that that’s not thing that we tin warrant that determination are the votes determination to do. But what I’ve said is I’m unfastened to having conversations with our Democrat colleagues astir however to code that issue,” Thune said.

“ But that can’t hap portion the authorities is unopen down.”

Republican President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has threatened to usage the shutdown arsenic an accidental to slash the national workforce and chopped programmes that payment Democratic strongholds.

Already this week, his medication has said it is suspending $18bn successful New York City infrastructure projects, including for tunnels nether the Hudson River, arsenic good arsenic astir $8bn successful cleanable vigor initiatives.

But connected Friday, Russ Vought, Trump’s manager for the US Office of Management and Budget, announced different large metropolis would beryllium targeted for cuts: Chicago, Illinois.

Vought posted connected societal media that 2 Chicago infrastructure projects, worthy $2.1bn, “have been enactment connected clasp to guarantee backing is not flowing via race-based contracting”.

At a quality briefing afterwards, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said a simplification successful the national workforce was besides successful the works, with Vought gathering with bureau leaders to sermon layoffs.

“Maybe if Democrats bash the close thing, this authorities shutdown tin beryllium over. Our troops tin get paid again. We tin spell backmost to doing the concern of the American people,” Leavitt said.

“But if this shutdown continues, arsenic we’ve said, layoffs are an unfortunate effect of that.”

But Democratic leaders dismissed those threats arsenic unit tactics meant to distract from the cardinal question of healthcare.

In his remarks, Schumer argued that healthcare was a apical precedence for Republican districts too, and that Republican leaders should respond accordingly.

“It’s simple,” Schumer said. “ They tin reopen the authorities and marque people’s healthcare much affordable astatine the aforesaid time.”