President Trump, whom Democrats say is the only Republican leader who can break the government funding stalemate, has stayed out of the fray on Capitol Hill, leaving lawmakers in both parties pessimistic about reaching a deal until he engages in serious talks.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said on Friday that he will stick with his plan of forcing Senate Democrats to keep voting on a House-passed seven-week resolution to fund the government, but the measure has...
Senate
Why Congress is running out of time for an ObamaCare deal
Republicans in Congress have refused to negotiate an extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits as part of talks to end the shutdown, arguing there is plenty of time to negotiate over ObamaCare once the government is funded.
“That is an issue for the end of the year. Dec. 31 is when that expires,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a briefing Friday. “So, Congress has three months to negotiate that. Certainly, we could work on it in the month of October to find s...
Most Americans believe the shutdown will last two weeks or less: Survey
A new poll shows most Americans say they believe the government shutdown will last for two weeks or less, as Congress grapples with the public fallout from the first shutdown in about six years.
The YouGov survey, published on Friday, found that 41 percent of Americans think the federal closure will last for two weeks or less. Within that share, 16 percent of respondents expected the shutdown to last for less than a week, while 25 percent said the shuttering could last for ...
House GOP leaders urge unity in shutdown canceled-votes strategy
House Republican leaders urged unity in their shutdown fight against Democrats on a call with GOP members Saturday morning, with members on the call backing up Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) move to cancel previously-scheduled votes next week as they aim to pressure Senate Democrats into accepting their “clean” seven-week funding bill.
There is some wiggle room in the schedule, though, if senators strike a deal that requires the House to return to Washington and pass a comp...
Deep distrust hinders path to shutdown deal
The stalemate over how to reopen the government is being inflamed by something no policy provision can fix: A deep-seeded distrust between the leaders of the parties.
The trust gap has a lengthy history and a profusion of roots. But it's resurfacing now over the thorny issue driving the budget impasse: Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at the end of the year.
Republicans say they're open to discussing the topic, but they’re insisting those talks happen l...
Five Senate Democrats the GOP is trying to flip on government funding
Senate Republicans are pushing intensely to nab the five additional Democratic votes they need to unlock their bill to end the government shutdown.
Republicans have shown little willingness to negotiate on the top Democratic priority — an extension of enhanced health care subsidies — as part of any funding deal, and instead are attempting to work directly to pick off the requisite support.
The GOP needs eight Democratic votes to advance the House-passed continuing...
Haberman: Some Republicans ‘quietly frustrated’ with Trump’s Project 2025 talk
White House correspondent Maggie Haberman on Thursday said GOP lawmakers are “quietly frustrated” by President Trump’s references to the conservative policy initiative known as Project 2025 during the government shutdown.
In recent days, the president has touted a meeting with White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought, who co-authored the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. The 920-page leadership mandate outlined a legislative agenda t...
Senate rejects measures to end shutdown
Senate Democrats voted for the fourth time Friday to defeat a House-passed bill that would fund the government through Nov. 21 and end the three-day government shutdown that has left tens of thousands of federal employees furloughed.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) failed to pick up any additional Democratic votes for the clean, seven-week funding measure, leaving the tally at 54-44. It needed 60 votes to pass.
Three members of the Democratic cauc...
Democrats seek shutdown leverage with economy over Trump, GOP
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are buckling in for a protracted government shutdown, something that experts say could begin to have a significant impact on the economy and put pressure on President Trump to negotiate a deal with Democrats.
Economic experts say the shutdown won’t have an immediate impact on the economy, but they predict the effect on gross domestic product (GDP) will add up after a few weeks and could become more pronounced because of other economic headwinds, su...
White House’s shutdown layoff threats, funding freezes unnerve some Republicans
The Trump administration’s plans to lay off thousands of federal workers and freeze federal grants during the government shutdown are getting pushback from some congressional Republicans.
The moves would harm projects and constituents in a number of GOP-held districts, and some Republicans worry that using the shutdown as a spending-slashing opportunity could backfire on Republicans as they aim to put the blame for the shutdown squarely on Democrats.
Rep. Mike Law...