The government shutdown in the United States has entered its 36th day, making it the longest in history and disrupting the lives of millions of Americans making decisions, delaying flights and financial workers across the country.
US President Donald Trump has refused to negotiate with Democrats over their demands to save expiring health insurance subsidies until he agrees to reopen the government. But skeptical Democrats doubt whether the Republican President will keep his Word, especially after the administration blocked the program to receive food assistance (Snap) Food aid despite court orders to ensure that money is available to prevent hunger.
Trump, whose first term in the White House set a record for the previous government shutdown, blamed the shutdown as “a major factor,” and repeated his Republican demands to end the Senate Filibuster as a way to open the Senate Filibuster as a way to open the Senate filibuster as a way to open the government – something senators have refused to do.
Trump pushed through the repeal of the Senate rule, which requires a 60-vote threshold to develop a majority rule, as a way to move Stealorroll the Democratic Little tuliown from burning and a long list of other priorities.
Republicans now hold a 53-47 majority, and Democrats have been able to block a House Bill that would fund the government, voting more than a dozen times.
“We have to open the government soon,” Trump said during a breakfast meeting Wednesday with Republican senators at the White House.
Trump has remained mostly on the sidelines throughout the shutdown, maintaining a tight schedule of world travel and events, including his private mar-a-lago club in Florida.
Trump caused some confusion on Tuesday when he appeared to threaten Snap’s benefits unless Democrats vote to reopen the government — even as court orders strengthen the nationwide food system.
His press secretary, Caroline Leavett, tried to leave after Trump’s press release
The US Department of Agriculture said last month that those benefits in November would not be paid because of the federal government shutdown. That began scrambling for food banks, state governments and the nearly 42 million Americans who receive aid to find ways to ensure access to food.
The shutdown is costing the US billions each week
DRMENCAL leaders are at odds with House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, who sent lawmakers to the House in September after approving their money. In addition, Johnson refused to have Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijelva, who won a special election in September, sworn in until the deadline.
In the meantime, food assistance, childcare and countless other Government services are severely disrupted. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been laid off or are expected to work without pay.
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy predicted there could be chaos in the skies next week if air traffic controllers miss out on another paycheque. Labor unions are putting pressure on governors to reopen the government.
Estimates of the weekly loss of GDP due to the shutdown have varied widely, from KPMG’s assessment of $10 billion to MOODY’s price tag.
Senate Majority Leader John Tune, a Republican from South Dakota, said this was not only the longest shutdown but also “the toughest shutdown on record.”
He pleaded with Democrats to accept his failure to vote on the health care issue and continue to negotiate a solution if the government reopens, saying that no one succeeds in politics from politics.
‘The speed of speech has increased’
Central to any decision will be a series of agreements that would require the support of not only the Senate, but also the House, and the White House, not all of which are in Washington, DC
Senators from both parties, especially powerful members of the House Appropriations Committee, are pushing to ensure that the normal federal funding process in Congress can be put back on track.
“The pace of the talks has picked up,” said Michigan activist Gary Peters, who has been involved in the talks.
Among the goals is ensuring future votes on a small spending package where there is a broad bipartisan agreement to fund various aspects of government such as grassroots agriculture programs.
More difficult, a large number of Senators also want some adjustments to the financial stability of the Affirmative Care Act funding that is set to expire next year.
The Trump administration will lay off about 1,400 more employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration, the agency that manages U.S. nuclear weapons, as a result of the government shutdown, the Department of Energy said.
Trump sets another record shut down
With Insurance Premium notices posted, millions of people are experiencing sticker shock with skyrocketing prices. The loss of enhanced state funding, which was put in place during the covid-19 pandemic and came in the form of tax credits, is expected to leave many people unable to purchase health insurance.
Republicans are reluctant to support the health care system, also known as Obamacare, without changes, but negotiating a compromise with Democrats is expected to take time – if an agreement can be reached at all.
Thune has promised Democrats at least votes on their health care bill as part of any deal to reopen the government. But that’s not enough for some senators, who see the health care deadline as part of their broader problems with Trump’s direction of the country.
Trump has remained mostly on the sidelines throughout the shutdown, maintaining a tight schedule of world travel and events, including his private mar-a-lago club in Florida.
Trump’s approach to the shutdown is in contrast to his first term, when the government was partially shut down for 35 days beyond his needs to build the US-Mexico Border Wall.
During that time, he publicly met and discussed with opinion leaders. Unable to protect the money, it finally turned around.
While the two longest shutdowns occurred with Trump as President, the opposite was the longest shutdown in 1995-96. With that interruption, with workers paid on furlough, then president Bill Clinton and the elderly Monica LeWinsky shared the first meeting of several funds.
After Clinton lied about the relationship in a public impeachment, the Republican-led House moved forward with the first impeachment of a President in 130 years. Clinton, like President Andrew Johnson in the previous example, was released from the Senate and remained in office.
