Lawmakers from both parties dug in their heels Sunday over government funding demands ahead of a meeting between President Trump and congressional leaders aimed at averting a shutdown this week.
During various interviews on the Sunday political affairs programs, Republican and Democratic leaders signaled that health care subsidies set to expire at the end of the year remain a key sticking point.
Democratic leaders have been adamant that Republicans won’t get their...
Senate
Van Hollen says Democrats ‘not going to write a blank check’ to avert shutdown
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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Government shutdown looms: What to know about closures, payments and more
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
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...
Shutdown fight leaves Democrats with no good options
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...
Thune: Democrats need to ‘dial back’ demands to avoid shutdown
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...
Rove: Biggest shutdown loser would be ‘public trust in Washington’
GOP strategist Karl Rove weighed in on the looming government shutdown, saying the American public will lose trust in Washington if lawmakers continue to clash over policy issues, including health care.
"But no matter what, the biggest shutdown loser will likely be public trust in Washington writ large,” Rove wrote Wednesday in an op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal. “Voters see shutdowns as the result of gross incompetence by our leaders."
He pointed to Pe...
Whole Hog Politics: Gaming out the politics of a shutdown
Washington is almost as bad about abusing truisms as farmers and sports announcers.
And right now, the Washington equivalent of the black bands on a woolly bear caterpillar or “defense wins championships” is this old chestnut: “The party in control of Congress gets the blame for a government shutdown.”
It looks like we are about to find out about that.
The deal to fully fund the federal government reached in March expires at the end of the day Tuesday, a...
Democrats dismiss Trump budget office threats as shutdown edges closer
Democratic congressional leaders are dismissing a threat from the White House budget office to fire masses of federal workers during a government shutdown, saying they will not be intimidated into caving on their demands for talks on extending health care subsidies.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) brushed off the missive from Russell Vought, the head of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), as...
White House directs agencies to prep for mass firings ahead of potential shutdown
The White House budget office on Wednesday indicated mass firings could be on the table in the event of a government shutdown as Congress faces a stalemate on negotiations in the days leading up to the government funding deadline.
A memo from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reviewed by The Hill indicates that agencies are directed to “use this opportunity to consider reduction in force (RIF) notices for all employees in programs, projects, or activities” under thr...