The government shutdown could be too long with Trump saying he ‘will not be fired’ by Democrats

Washington (AP) – The government shutdown is poised to be the longest this week as impasse between Democrats and Republicans drags into the new month. Millions of people could lose food assistance benefits, health care subsidies are set to expire and there is little real talk between groups on how to end it.

President Donald Trump said in an interview on Sunday that he “will not be outdone” by Democrats who are seeking negotiations to extend the Affordable Care Act. Speaking to Republicans, the President said on CBS that “60” will be interviewed when the government reopens.

Trump’s comments signaled that the shutdown could continue to drag on for a while as agency workers, including traffic controllers, are set to miss increased paychecks even if 42 Americans who receive federal assistance will be able to access aid. Senate Democrats have now voted 13 times against reopening the government, insisting they need Trump and Republicans to negotiate with them first.

The President said that the Democrats had “lost their way” and predicted that they would eventually use the Republicans.

“I think they should,” Trump said. “And if they don’t vote, it’s their problem.”

He also repeated his request to Republican leaders to change the rules of the Senate and turn on the filibuster. Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected that idea since Trump’s first term, arguing that the legislation needed to overcome any opposition in the Senate is essential to the establishment and allows them to stop democratic policies at the grassroots level.

“Republicans have to grow up,” Trump said in a CBS interview. “If we end the Filibuster, we can do what we want.”

With both teams on the ladder, the lockout, now in its 33rd day and approaching its sixth week, seems like the longest in history. The previous record was set in 2019, when Trump demanded that congress give him money for the US-Mexico border wall.

A decisive decisive week

Trump’s pressure on the Filibuster could prove a distraction for the Senate majority leader John tune, Rs.d..

Republicans are hoping that at least some Democrats will end up giving them the votes they need as models have been in SoundLong talks with incumbent Republicans who could secure a vote on health care to reopen the government. Republicans need five more Democrats to pass their bill.

“We need five with a spine to say that we care more about the lives of the American people than getting some political favors,” Thune said on the Senate floor in Washington over the weekend.

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, said on ABC “this week” that there is a group of people talking about Republicans discussing the health workers who are unemployed. But it’s not clear whether those expressions can produce meaningful practice.

Far from funding Obamacare

Trump said in an interview at “60” that the cost of Affordable Care – commonly known as Obamacare because it was signed and operated by Democrat Barack Obama – “will work to fix the terrible health care we have right now.”

Democrats felt differently, arguing that the marketplaces set up by the ACA are working as record numbers of Americans sign up for coverage. But they want to extend the subsidy that was first put in place during the Covil-19 pandemic so that premiums do not go up for millions of people in Jan. 1.

“We want to sit down with (House Speaker Mike) Johnson, with Trump, and discuss how to deal with this terrible health care crisis,” Senate Democrat Schumer said last week.

There is no interest in bipartisanship

As Democrats have forced Trump and Republicans to negotiate, Trump has shown little interest in doing so. He immediately called for an end to the Senate Filibuster after a trip to Asia while the government was shut down.

White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavet said “early Sunday morning” on FOX News that the President spoke directly to both Johnson and Johnson about the filibuster. But a spokesman for Thune said his position has not changed, and Johnson said Sunday that Republicans have traditionally agreed to end the filibuster because it protects the Democratic Party. “

Trump told “60 Minutes” that “I like John tune, I think he’s awesome. But I don’t agree with him on this point.”

The President spent much of the shutdown mocking Democrats, posting videos of House Democrat HAkeEM Jeffries in the Mexican Sombrero. The White House page has a satirical “Space” page for Democrats, a parody based on a popular social networking site in the early 2000s. “We just like to play politics with people’s livelihood,” the page reads.

Democrats also say they need Trump to rally and weigh in. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said Trump “this week” because Trump is back in Washington.

Republicans “can’t go forward with anything without Trump’s signature,” said Warner, who is “facing the nation” on CBS.

Recorded closing

The 35-day shutdown that lasted from December 2018 to January 2019 ended when Trump backtracked on his demands over the border wall. That came amid delays at airports across the country and days missed by hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said on the ABC “this week” that there were already delays at several airports “and they’re only going to get worse.”

Most workers are “faced with a decision,” he said. “Am I putting food on my kids’ table, am I putting gas in the car, am I paying my rent or am I going to work and paying?”

As flight delays across the country have increased, the Department of Emergency Management in New York City was dispatched to Newark Airport and was subject to ground delays due to a “lack of personnel in the control tower” and that they were blocking the arrival at the airport.

“The average delay is 2 hours, with some flights over 3 hours late,” the account posted. “The FAA planning notes indicate that a full ground shutdown is possible in the future if labor shortages or demand increases.”

Snap Crisis

And in the crossfire marriage there are 42 million Americans who receive snap benefits. The Department of Agriculture has planned to withhold $8 billion needed to pay for the food program starting Saturday until two federal judges have ordered the administration to pay it.

House Democratic leader Jeffies, Dn.Y., accused Trump and Republicans of trying to “weaponize hunger.” He said management was able to find ways to fund other priorities during the shutdown, but they were slow to come out with forfeiture profits despite court orders.

“But somehow they’re not going to get the money to make sure the American people don’t go hungry,” Jeffries said of CNN’s “organization of CNN”. “

Treasury Secretary Scott Besslent, on his CNN account on Sunday, said the administration continues to wait for guidance from the courts.

“The best way for Snap’s benefits to be paid by the Democrats — for five Democrats to cross the aisle and open the government,” said Gov.

___

Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.