Democrats Dig In As Government Shutdown Odds Spike

WASHINGTON – Top congressional Democrats on Tuesday rejected a short-term Republican plan to fund the government until November, raising fears in the U.S. Capitol about a costly government shutdown as both sides dug in to their positions ahead of a Sept. 30 funding deadline.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called on Republicans to come to the table and negotiate a bipartisan agreement that also extends expanded tax credits for people who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, which are due to expire at the end of the year.

“The House Republican-only spending bill fails to meet the needs of the American people and does nothing to stop the looming healthcare crisis,” the two Democrats said in a statement.

“By refusing to work with Democrats, Republicans are steering our country straight toward a shutdown. President Trump called the play last week when he told Congressional Republicans to jam a partisan spending bill down the throats of the American people without Democratic support,” they added.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), meanwhile, told reporters on Tuesday that a government shutdown “very well may happen” because Democrats refuse to accept a “continuing resolution” to fund the government at current levels to give lawmakers more time to hammer out a more detailed plan for federal agencies. He said Congress should tackle the issue of the expiring ACA tax credits at a later date.

“I hope that when we put this clean continuing resolution on the floor, Democrats will come to their senses and do what is right,” Thune said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Democrats have leverage in this fight because Republicans control only 53 seats in the 100-member Senate, and 60 votes will be needed to approve a funding plan. Many in the party want them to use it to reverse Trump’s policies and his attacks against the rule of law.

Democratic leaders are expected to unveil a bicameral counter-proposal that would fund the government at current levels, permanently extend Obamacare subsidies and seek to prevent Trump’s administration from withholding foreign aid funding that Congress approved last year. That proposal likely won’t go anywhere in the GOP-controlled House, which is set to vote on its own “clean” short-term funding patch later this week.

In March, Republicans passed a funding bill through the House with only one Democratic vote, jamming Senate Democrats and forcing them to swallow it, ultimately averting a shutdown. It’s not yet clear if House Republicans will be able to run the same play this time. Four Republicans have already said they will vote against the new bill — though some of them tend to posture and fold in the end. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) can lose only two Republican votes and still pass legislation without Democratic help.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) smiled when asked if he thought the holdouts would stick to their guns. One of them, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), has said for months she would oppose a continuing resolution for government funding past September.

“I can just speak for me,” Massie told HuffPost. “Don’t know about the others.”

Jeffries predicted House Democrats would stick together in opposition to the bill, putting pressure on GOP lawmakers to put up the votes on their own.

Even if Republicans can pass the bill in the House, they’ll need at least seven Senate Democrats to join them to break a filibuster and get it to Trump’s desk, similar to what happened earlier this year. But Democratic senators appear much more ready for a fight this time.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), one of the 10 Democrats who voted to avert a shutdown in March, said he will be a “no” on the continuing resolution if Republicans continue refuse to come to the table and work out a bipartisan agreement.

“The vibes are bad,” Schatz told reporters on Tuesday. “Donald Trump made it explicit that he doesn’t think he needs to talk to us. And so I guess it’s up to [the Republicans] to figure it out.”

“The president of the United States has repeatedly said over the last couple of weeks that he does not need our votes, and so I wish him the best,” he added.