US President Donald Trump during a lunch with Republican Senators in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Oct. 21.
(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump urged Senate Republicans to hold the line as the US government shutdown extended into its 21st day, warning Democrats that they would bear the political fallout for the impasse if they did not vote quickly to approve funding.
“Our message has been very simple: We will not be extorted on this crazy plot of theirs,” Trump said Tuesday at an event in the White House’s Rose Garden, where he hosted Senate Republicans for lunch in a display of party unity.
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Later Tuesday, Trump said he would meet with Democratic congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, but only after the shutdown ends.
“I would love to meet. I would like to meet with both of them, but I set one little caveat. I will only meet if they let the country open,” Trump told reporters, adding that the Democratic party is led by “stupid people.”
US President Donald TrumpPhotographer: Allison Robbert/Bloomberg
Democrats have been pushing for a meeting with Trump, arguing that direct talks is the only way to end the shutdown. Republican leaders have sought to hold a firm line, saying that Democrats need to vote to re-open the government before they will agree to discussions about renewing the health care subsidies at the center of the shutdown fight.
Democrats have insisted they will not reopen the government until Republicans agree to extend Obamacare premium subsidies to head off a spike in insurance premiums for more than 22 million Americans. Republicans in both chambers say they will not extend the subsidies without significant changes.
As the economic strain intensifies, both parties have continued to blame each other over the shutdown. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers will miss a second paycheck in the coming days and the Federal Aviation Administration said there are flight delays and air controller shortages in airports across the country.
Trump argued that voters would hold Democrats responsible for disruptions caused by the shutdown, including federal workers going without pay and shuttered museums.
“Over 1 million federal workers right now, as you know, are going unpaid — that’s the Democrats’ fault — and children, tourists unable to visit the museums in Washington, DC,” he added.
Senate Republican Leader John Thune, speaking to reporters after the lunch, said lawmakers left the White House “hopeful that this will be the week we break out of this.”
Thune said he planned to bring another vote on a continuing resolution Wednesday. They’ll also vote on a measure that would pay federal employees and military service members for working during the shutdown, in a bid to raise pressure on Democrats.
“We’ll see how the Democrats react to that,” Thune said. “At some point the Democrats are going to have to say ‘yes’ for an answer.”
Schumer told reporters Tuesday that he and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries wanted to meet with Trump before the president departs later this week for a trip to Asia.
‘Cutting Democrat Priorities’
Trump and administration officials have made clear they intend to inflict pain on Democratic constituencies if the standoff continues, using the fight as an opportunity to slash the federal bureaucracy and terminate funding in states run by political opponents. The president has pledged to release a list of federal programs slated for cuts, which he said would target “Democrat” programs.
Trump praised White House budget director Russ Vought, whom he likened Tuesday to the Star Wars villain, Darth Vader, for moving to freeze some funding during the standoff.
The US Army Corps of Engineers announced Friday it will pause $11 billion in infrastructure projects in states that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris, Trump’s 2024 election rival. Much of that pause — $7 billion of the total — is in New York state, which Trump has particularly singled out. New York is home to the top Democrats in both the US House and Senate: Jeffries and Schumer, respectively. Earlier this month, the White House halted $18 billion in New York infrastructure funding affecting the Hudson Tunnel Project and Second Avenue Subway.
“Many of the things that they’re cutting, like the New York project, $20 billion we’re cutting it, they’re not going to get it back,” Trump added Tuesday. “They may not get it back. Maybe we’ll talk to them about it, but they’re losing all the things that they wanted.”
Russell VoughtPhotographer: Allison Robbert/Bloomberg
Vought has also threatened more federal layoffs, saying he expects government employee dismissals to exceed more than 10,000 workers. Layoff notices have already gone out to more than 4,000 federal employees this month. That move has sparked a court fight, with a federal judge last week ordering the administration to stop shutdown-related reductions in force. Some agencies are moving forward with planned worker layoffs for employees they see as not covered by the order, according to court filings.
With both sides seemingly dug in, in recent days, some hardline conservative lawmakers have expressed more openness to altering the Obamacare subsidies rather than ending them outright.
“If you want to come forward with reforms to the health-care system, I’m happy to look at,” Representative Chip Roy of Texas told reporters about renewing Obamacare subsidies. Any deal, however, would require steep concessions from Democrats.
Johnson, during a Tuesday appearance on CNBC, said he would seek to “bring free market conversation” into any discussion of extending subsidies for Obamacare premiums.
–With assistance from Mike Dorning and Hadriana Lowenkron.
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