Van Hollen says Democrats ‘not going to write a blank check’ to avert shutdown

September 28, 2025September 28, 2025 health care, News, Senate

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Democrats will not “write a blank check” to the Trump administration to avert a government shutdown.

In a Sunday interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” the Maryland Democrat doubled down on the party's opposition to a GOP-backed continuing resolution (CR) to extend government funding at current levels unless money is included for health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act that are set to expire at the end of the year.
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Jeffries says he’s ‘hopeful’ Congress can avert a government shutdown

September 28, 2025September 28, 2025 health care, News

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Sunday he’s "hopeful" Congress can avert a government shutdown, a day before he and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) are set to meet with President Trump and GOP leaders at the White House.

“Our view going into the meeting is that we want to find bipartisan common ground to find a spending agreement that avoids a government shutdown and actually meets the needs of the American people in terms of their health, ...

Johnson pushes back on Jeffries: ‘There is nothing partisan about this continuing resolution’

September 28, 2025September 28, 2025 News

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) insisted on Sunday that there is “nothing partisan” about the Republican bill to keep the government funded ahead of the shutdown deadline this Wednesday.

In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” the GOP leader pushed back on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’s (D-N.Y.) suggestion this past week that the Republican proposal is a “reckless partisan bill that continues to gut the health care of the American people” and that “their bill is d...

Government shutdown looms: What to know about closures, payments and more

September 28, 2025September 28, 2025 News, Senate

A government shutdown starting on Wednesday is looking probable as Democrats in Congress push Republicans on funding, health care, and President Trump’s reshaping of the federal government.

Unless Republicans and Democrats in Congress come to an agreement and pass a funding measure by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, October will kick off with the first government shutdown in nearly seven years.

It would affect every agency, but many “essential” government functions and pay...

Trump to meet with Schumer, Jeffries, Johnson, Thune ahead of shutdown deadline

September 28, 2025September 28, 2025 News, Senate

President Trump is set to meet with the top four leaders in Congress on Monday ahead of a Tuesday shutdown deadline, a notable shift after he canceled a meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) earlier in the week.

Schumer, Jeffries, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) will meet with Trump at the White House on Monday, according to three sources familiar with the mee...

Sunday shows preview: Comey indictment consumes Washington as shutdown deadline nears

September 27, 2025September 27, 2025 News

Former FBI Director James Comey was slapped with a two-count indictment on Thursday, a development that has consumed Washington but was welcomed by President Trump, administration officials and their allies.

The charges come from Comey’s 2020 testimony in front of the Senate when the chamber was investigating probes into alleged ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, which the president has slammed as a “witch hunt.”

The indictment against Comey mar...

Shutdown fight leaves Democrats with no good options

September 27, 2025September 27, 2025 News, Senate

The shutdown fight has left Democrats with few options, and none of them are good.

Faced with President Trump’s refusal to negotiate, they can either cave after weeks of tough talk and support the Republicans’ spending bill, or they can hold firm against it and watch the government shutdown.

The first option is politically fraught, providing an endorsement, however reluctant, of the Republicans’ go-it-alone budget strategy while ensuring a sharp backlash from a l...

A failed experiment in reducing medical costs is ripe for elimination

September 26, 2025September 26, 2025 News, Opinion

The federal government’s role in health care was settled to a large extent when Congress passed, and then failed to repeal, the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare. While provisions of the law have been expanded and others reversed, the underlying system of healthcare exchanges remains intact. However, some ObamaCare programs have proven to be so ineffective and costly that they must be promptly repealed, starting with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.
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White House study touts HSA eligibility expansion amid health care funding fight

September 26, 2025September 26, 2025 health care, News

The White House is touting efforts to expand eligibility for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for millions of Americans, as Democrats' demands around health care access are front-and-center in the government funding fight.

A report shared exclusively with The Hill from the White House Council of Economic Advisers outlines how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Trump signed into law in July, is expected to expand access to HSAs for millions of Americans.

The Hill

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Thune: Democrats need to ‘dial back’ demands to avoid shutdown

September 26, 2025September 26, 2025 News, Senate

Related Video: MASS LAYOFFS Linger, Healthcare CUTS Loom As Leaders Reach IMPASSE On Spending Plan | SUNRISE

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) says Congress could avoid a government shutdown next week if Democrats “dial back” their demands to add hundreds of billions of dollars in new health care spending to a short-term government funding bill.

“I’m a big believer that there’s always a way out,” Thune told The Associated Press i...