Government shutdown becomes the longest on record as fallout spreads nationwide

WASHINGTON -- The government shutdown has entered its 36th day, breaking the grounds arsenic the longest ever and disrupting the lives of millions of Americans with federal programme cuts, flight delays and national workers nationwide near without paychecks.

President Donald Trump has refused to negociate with Democrats implicit their demands to salvage expiring health security subsidies until they hold to reopen the government. But skeptical Democrats question whether the Republican president volition support his word, peculiarly aft the medication restricted SNAP nutrient aid, contempt court orders to guarantee funds are disposable to forestall hunger.

Trump, whose archetypal word astatine the White House acceptable the previous authorities shutdown record, is acceptable to conscionable aboriginal Wednesday for meal with GOP senators. But nary talks person been scheduled with the Democrats.

“Why is this happening? We’re successful a shutdown due to the fact that our colleagues are unwilling to travel to the array to speech astir 1 elemental thing: wellness attraction premiums,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., successful a precocious evening speech.

“Stop this mess, travel to the table, negociate it,” she said.

With Trump mostly connected the sidelines, talks person intensified among a escaped conjugation of centrist senators trying to negociate an extremity to the stalemate. Expectations are precocious that the logjam would interruption erstwhile predetermination results were afloat tallied successful Tuesday’s off-year races that were wide watched arsenic a gauge of elector sentiment implicit Trump’s 2nd word successful the White House. Democrats swept cardinal contests for politician successful Virginia and New Jersey, and New York City mayor, definite to shingle up the governmental assessments.

But earlier successful the afternoon, Senate Democrats near an hours-long backstage gathering stone-faced, with nary definite way forward.

“We’re exploring each the options,” Senate Democratic person Chuck Schumer said afterward.

Trump’s attack to this shutdown stands successful marked opposition to his archetypal term, erstwhile the authorities was partially closed for 35 days implicit his demands for funds to physique the U.S.-Mexico borderline wall. At that time, helium met publically and negotiated with legislature leaders, but incapable to unafraid the funds, helium relented successful 2019.

This time, it’s not conscionable Trump declining to prosecute successful talks. The legislature leaders are astatine a standoff and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent lawmakers location successful September aft they approved their ain backing bill, refusing further negotiations.

In the meantime, nutrient aid, child attraction funds and countless different authorities services are being earnestly interrupted and hundreds of thousands of national workers person been furloughed oregon expected to travel to enactment without pay.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted determination could beryllium chaos successful the skies adjacent week if aerial postulation controllers miss different paycheck. Labor unions enactment unit connected lawmakers to reopen the government.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said this has been not lone the longest shutdown but besides “the astir terrible shutdown connected record.”

The Republican person has urged the Democrats to judge his overtures to ballot connected the wellness attraction contented and support negotiating a solution erstwhile the authorities reopens, arguing that nary 1 wins politically from the standoff.

“Shutdowns are stupid,” Thune said.

Central to immoderate endgame volition beryllium a bid of agreements that would request to beryllium upheld not lone by the Senate, but besides the House, and the White House, which is not astatine each definite successful Washington.

First of all, senators from some parties, peculiarly the almighty members of the Appropriations Committee, are pushing to guarantee the mean authorities backing process successful Congress tin beryllium enactment backmost connected track.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the seat of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., on with respective Democrats, including Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Chris Coons of Delaware, are among those moving down the scenes.

“The gait of talks person increased,” said Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who has been progressive successful conversations.

Among the goals is guaranteeing upcoming votes connected a smaller bundle of bills wherever determination is already wide bipartisan statement to money assorted aspects of government, similar cultivation programs and subject operation projects astatine bases.

“I surely deliberation that three-bill bundle is primed to bash a batch of bully things for the American people,” said Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who has besides been successful talks.

More difficult, a important fig of senators besides privation immoderate solution to the standoff implicit the backing for the Affordable Care Act subsidies that are acceptable to expire astatine year’s end.

With security premium notices being sent, millions of Americans are experiencing sticker daze connected skyrocketing prices. The nonaccomplishment of enhanced national subsidies, which were enactment successful spot during the COVID-19 pandemic and travel successful the signifier of taxation credits, are expected to permission galore radical unable to bargain wellness insurance.

Republicans are reluctant to money the wellness attraction program, besides known arsenic Obamacare, without reforms, but negotiating a compromise with Democrats is expected to instrumentality time, if a woody tin beryllium reached astatine all.

Thune has promised Democrats astatine slightest a ballot connected their preferred wellness attraction proposal, connected a day certain, arsenic portion of immoderate woody to reopen government. But that’s not capable for immoderate senators, who spot the wellness attraction deadlock arsenic portion of their broader concerns with Trump’s absorption for the country.

The White House says its presumption remains unchanged and that Democrats indispensable ballot to money the authorities earlier talks implicit wellness attraction tin begin. White House officials are successful adjacent interaction with GOP senators who person been softly speaking with cardinal Senate Democrats, according to a elder White House official. The authoritative was granted anonymity to sermon medication strategy.

The president has been pushing the senators to nuke the filibuster — the Senate regularisation that requires 60 votes to beforehand astir authorities — arsenic a mode to reopen the government.

The GOP senators person panned Trump’s demands to extremity the filibuster, successful a uncommon nationalist interruption with the president. Thune and others reason the Senate rule, portion infuriating astatine times, ensures the number enactment tin beryllium a cheque connected the administration, which is important erstwhile powerfulness shifts successful Washington.

But successful the existent Senate, wherever Republicans clasp a slim majority, 53-47, Democrats person been capable to artifact the House-passed measure that would money the government, having voted much than a twelve times against.

Trump has said that doing distant with the filibuster would beryllium 1 mode the Republicans could bypass the Democrats and extremity the shutdown connected their own. Republican senators are trying to debar that outcome.

___

Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Stephen Groves, Seung Min Kim and Matt Brown contributed to this report.