WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans and Democrats remain at an impasse. government shutdown The 6th weekend, Food aid may be delayed or suspended That’s because millions of Americans and President Donald Trump are pressuring Republican leaders to change Senate rules to end this problem.
White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said Sunday that Trump also spoke with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-La.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). He publicly and repeatedly called for an end to the Senate filibuster.. But Republicans have strongly rejected Trump’s calls since his first term. Rules that require 60 votes to overcome objections Support in the Senate was critical to the agency, allowing it to block Democratic policies when in the minority.
Levitt said Sunday that Democrats are “crazy people” who won’t budge.
“That’s why President Trump said Republicans need to get tough, they need to get smart, they need to eliminate the filibuster, reopen the government and use this option to do the right thing by the American people,” Levitt said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
Democrats have voted against reopening the government 13 times, rejecting a 53-47 vote from Republicans to insist on negotiations in the Senate. Extend government health subsidies It will be discontinued at the end of the year. Republicans have said they will not negotiate until the government is reopened.
With the conflict between the two sides at a stalemate, the closure period is now in its 33rd day, likely to be the longest in history. The previous record was set in 2019 when President Trump asked Congress to fund construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Could be a decisive week
President Trump’s push for a filibuster could serve as a distraction for Thune and other Republican senators who have chosen to stay the course as the effects of the government shutdown become more severe, including unpaid salaries for air traffic controllers and government workers and uncertainty over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
As Republicans continue to vote on their government reopening bill, they hope at least some Democrats will eventually give them the votes they need. Democrats have remained united so far, but some moderates are talking with rank-and-file Republicans about a potential compromise that would guarantee a vote on health care in exchange for reopening the government. Republicans need five more Democrats to pass the bill.
“We need five people with the backbone to say they value American lives more than political influence,” Thune said Thursday on the Senate floor as the Senate left Washington for the weekend.
Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that people are talking about “a path to fixing the health care debacle” and a Republican promise not to lay off any more federal workers. However, it remains unclear whether these talks can produce a meaningful compromise.
Next week could also be a big week for Democrats, as the Affordable Care Act’s health care market open enrollment period begins Nov. 1, meaning people are already starting to see higher premiums next year and it may be too late to make changes right away. The Democratic Party is also paying attention to the results. gubernatorial election on Tuesday in Virginia and New Jersey.
no bipartisan intent
As the Democratic Party presses President Trump and the Republican Party to negotiate, President Trump took the following stance. have little interest in doing so. He called for an immediate halt after the Senate filibuster. travel to asia While the government is shut down.
Mr. Levitt said Sunday that the president spoke to Mr. Thune and Mr. Johnson about the filibuster. But a spokeswoman for Mr. Thune said Friday that his position had not changed, and Mr. Johnson said Sunday that Republicans have traditionally resisted calls to end the filibuster to protect them from “the worst impulses of far-left Democrats.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on “Fox News Sunday” that President Trump’s call for an end “reflects all of our desperation.”
President Trump spent much of the shutdown mocking Democrats, posting a video of House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries online. mexican sombrero. The White House website has a satirical “MySpace” page for Democrats, a parody based on social media sites popular in the early 2000s. The page says, “We love playing politics with people’s lives at stake.”
Democrats have repeatedly said they need to consult Trump. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said he hoped the government shutdown would end “this week” now that Trump is back in Washington.
Warner said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that Republicans “cannot move forward with anything without President Trump’s approval.”
Record-breaking shutdown
of 35 day shutdown The policy, which lasted from December 2018 to January 2019, ended when President Trump backed away from his demands for a border wall. This comes as delays at the nation’s airports escalate and hundreds of thousands of federal workers miss multiple paydays.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on “This Week” that unpaid air traffic controllers are already causing delays at some airports and “this is only going to get worse.”
Many workers “are having to make a decision,” he said. “They are deciding whether to put food on the table for their children, whether to put gas in their car, whether to pay the rent, or whether to go to work and not get paid.”
“I’ve encouraged all of them to come to work. I want them to come to work, but they’re making life decisions that they don’t have to make,” Duffy said.
snap crisis
The 42 million Americans receiving SNAP benefits are also under fire. Department of Agriculture Plans to set aside $8 billion needed for payments Food program starts on Saturday two federal judges order The government funds it.
House Democratic Leader Jeffries accused Trump and the Republican Party of trying to “weaponize hunger.” He said the government has managed to find ways to fund other priorities during the government shutdown, but progress on SNAP benefits has been slow despite court orders.
“But somehow we can’t find the money to keep Americans from going hungry,” Jeffries said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on his CNN appearance Sunday that the administration continues to wait for direction from the courts.
“The best way for SNAP benefits to be paid is for Democrats, five Democrats, to cross the aisle and reopen the government,” Bessent said.
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Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.
