As the U.S. government shutdown stalemate enters a critical week,Democratic senators are again urging President Trump to directly engage in negotiations to end the impasse. This government shutdown is about to set a record length, the pain faced by American families and travelers as a result is deepening.
Late last week, lawmakers said they were finally making progress in talks to reopen the government and have begun discussions on how to address the expiration of enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Once that subsidy expires, health insurance costs for millions of Americans will rise significantly. And Democrats have made health care-related negotiations a prerequisite for voting to end the shutdown.
Some travelers experienced unusually lengthy delays on Sunday due to staffing shortages at major airports across the United States. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), flights to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey were delayed by more than three hours on average; passengers departing from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston were notified that wait times could exceed 90 minutes.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said on Sunday that senators were still discussing a possible deal across party lines that would address health care issues and prevent the White House from pressuring Democrats. Since the shutdown began, the Trump administration has laid off dozens of federal workers and frozen billions of dollars in project funding going to “blue states” and “blue cities.”
"I just hope that we can find a way to prevent people's bills from skyrocketing, and that the president can agree to stop this destructive move. If the president is willing to participate in (negotiations), I think we can reach an agreement within a few hours." Kaine said on a program.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner, also from Virginia, said,He hopes the shutdown will end this week while urging Trump to step in. "This requires active intervention from the president," he said on a show.
Judging from the White House's stance, there is currently no sign that Trump will join the negotiations..
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said recently: "We will only have policy conversations after the Democrats stop holding the American people hostage and reopen the government."
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, said on Sunday that Democrats were playing political games and that the easiest solution for the Senate was to pass the bill that the House of Representatives had already passed. He accused: "The Democratic Party is simply using the people as bargaining chips."
Because Congress failed to pass the required appropriations bill or temporary spending bill before the start of the new fiscal year (the main difference between the two parties is whether to include provisions related to the health care budget), the U.S. government has been shut down since October 1, and the shutdown is currently entering its 33rd day.
The longest government shutdown in history was 35 days, which occurred during Trump's first term from the end of 2018 to the beginning of 2019. The reason was serious differences between the Trump administration and congressional Democrats over funding for the U.S.-Mexico border wall.
Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, but according to Senate filibuster rules, 60 votes are needed to pass the bill. So far, the relevant bills have failed to gain enough support in more than a dozen failed votes.
Over the weekend, Trump posted a message on social platforms, calling on Republicans to abolish the Senate's filibuster rules so that they could use a simple majority to bypass the Democrats and "immediately end this blackmail shutdown." Most Republican congressmen still advocate retaining the filibuster rule, but some Republican congressmen believe that if the Democrats firmly refuse to compromise, this option should be considered.