WASHINGTON (AP) — We’re entering the third week of 2019. government shutdownDemocrats say they are not intimidated or intimidated by President Donald Trump’s efforts. lay off thousands of federal employees or by his threats There will be more shootings.
Instead, Democrats seemed emboldened, showing no signs of backing down as they returned to Washington from their home state on Tuesday night and rejected the Republican government-opening bill for the eighth time.
“What people are saying is we have to stop the carnage,” Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said of what he heard from constituents, including federal workers, as he traveled the state over the weekend. “And you can’t stop it by giving in.”
Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz said the firing was “a pretty big deal” and predicted it would eventually be overturned in court or otherwise reversed. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said of the Republican Party: shutdown It’s just an “excuse to do what they were trying to do.” And Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Wednesday that the cuts were a “misguided attempt” to sway Democratic votes.
“Their intimidation tactics are not working,” added House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York. “And it will continue to fail.”
Democratic senators say they are increasingly hearing from their constituents: Health insurance subsidies that expire at the end of the yearan issue that the party has made central to its closure struggle.
Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware said expiring health insurance subsidies and cuts to Medicaid enacted by Republicans earlier this year will affect millions of people “far more than” the federal employee layoffs the administration is threatening.
Republicans are also confident in their strategy of not negotiating on health care subsidies until Democrats give them the votes to reopen the government. The Senate is scheduled to vote again on the Republican bill Wednesday and Thursday, but so far there is no sign of movement on either side.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana): “We are hurtling toward the longest shutdown in American history.” said earlier this week.
Moderate Democrats remain unmoved.
in first few hours of shutdownbegan at 12:01 a.m. EDT on October 1, but it was unclear how long Democrats would hold out.
A group of moderate Democrats who voted against the Republican bill immediately began private informal talks with Republicans. Republican lawmakers had hoped that enough Democrats would quickly change their votes to end the filibuster and pass the spending bill with the necessary 60 votes.
But bipartisan talks over expiring health care subsidies have so far dragged on with no resolution. Two weeks later, moderates are still voting no, including Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan.
“This does not call for a government shutdown or give new authority to implement mass layoffs,” Peters said after the White House budget director. Russell Voughtannounced that the shooting began on Friday.
Lawmakers in the Washington, D.C., area see the benefits of a shutdown.
Another major group of Democrats are senators like Kaine, who represent millions of federal workers in Virginia and Maryland. Kaine said the government shutdown was preceded by “nine months of punitive actions” as the Republican president made cuts to federal agencies, and “everyone knows who is responsible.”
“Donald Trump is at war with his own employees and will not reward a CEO who hates his own employees,” Kaine said.
Democratic lawmakers from Maryland and Virginia appeared at a news conference Tuesday, along with supportive federal officials, calling on Republicans to come to the negotiating table.
“The message we want to send today is very simple,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. “Donald Trump and Russ Vought will stop attacking federal employees, stop attacking the American people, and begin negotiations to reopen the federal government and address the urgent health crisis.”
Thousands of people will lose their jobs and many more will be displaced.
The White House Office of Management and Budget said in a court filing Friday that well over 4,000 federal employees across eight departments will be laid off as a result of the government shutdown.
On Tuesday, President Trump said his administration was using the government shutdown to target federal programs favored by Democrats, “and in many cases they will never come back.”
“We are shutting down Democratic programs with which we disagree and will never reopen them,” he said.
However, the threats of the Democratic Party, which continued to demand consultations on health insurance, were not met at the Capitol.
“I don’t feel like this is going to be a pressure,” Jeffries said. “I think this is the same reality that the American people are facing. The question is, at what point do Republicans accept the reality that they created a health care crisis that needs to be decisively addressed?”
Senate Minority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) maintained that Republicans would not negotiate until Democrats resumed government.
Mr. Thun has repeatedly said that layoffs are “a completely avoidable situation.”
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AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
