Hopes fade for end to shutdown as Trump readies layoffs and cuts

WASHINGTON: Hopes for a quick end to the government shutdown were fading Friday as Republicans and Democrats dug in for a prolonged fight and President Donald Trump readied plans to unleash layoffs and cuts across the federal government.

Senators were headed back to the Capitol for another vote on government funding on the third day of the shutdown, but there has been no sign of any real progress toward ending their standoff. 

Democrats are demanding that Congress extend health care benefits, while Republicans are trying to wear them down with day after day of voting on a House-passed bill that would reopen the government temporarily, mostly at current spending levels.

“Until they have eight or hopefully 10 or more people who want to, decide they want to end the government shutdown, I'm not sure this goes anywhere,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday.

Although Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress, the Senate's filibuster rules make it necessary for the government funding legislation to gain support from at least 60 of the 100 senators. 

That's given Democrats a rare opportunity to use their 47 Senate seats to hold out in exchange for policy concessions. The party has chosen to rally on the issue of health care, believing it could be key to their path back to power in Washington.

Their primary demand is that Congress extend tax credits that were boosted during the COVID-19 pandemic for health care plans offered under the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

Standing on the steps of the US Capitol on Thursday, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “Understand this, over the last few days and over the next few days, what you’re going to see is more than 20 million Americans experience dramatically increased health care premiums, co-pays and deductibles because of the Republican unwillingness to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.”

The shutdown gamble

Democrats are running the high-risk strategy of effectively voting for a government shutdown to make their stand. Trump has vowed to make it as painful as possible for them.

The Republican president has called the government funding lapse an “unprecedented opportunity” to make vast cuts to federal agencies and potentially lay off federal workers, rather than the typical practice of furloughing them. 

White House budget director Russ Vought has already announced that he is withholding funds for infrastructure projects in states with Democratic senators.

Jeffries displayed no signs of budging under those threats.

“The cruelty that they might unleash on everyday Americans using the pretense of a shutdown is only going to backfire against them,” he said during an interview with The Associated Press and other outlets at the Capitol.

Roughly 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, and they could lose out on $400 million in daily wages. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday that “real pain is being inflicted upon the American people because 44 Democrats in the Senate have voted for the third time to reject” 

Who will take the blame?

The American public usually spreads the blame around to both major political parties when it comes to a government shutdown. 

While Trump took a significant portion of the blame during the last partial government shutdown in 2018 as he demanded funding for a US-Mexico border wall, this standoff could end differently because now it is Democrats making the policy demands.

Both sides expressed confidence that the other would ultimately be found at fault. In the House, party leaders seemed to be moving farther apart rather than closer to making a deal to end the shutdown.

Talks in the Senate

A few senators have engaged in bipartisan talks about launching negotiations on extending the ACA tax credits for one year while the Senate votes to reopen the government for several weeks.

As senators prepared for their last scheduled vote for the week on Friday, they appeared resigned to allow the shutdown to continue at least into next week.