The deadlock over ending the US government shutdown deepened on Wednesday, with senators once again rejecting competing bills to restart funding. Democrats and Republicans remain dug in on their demands for reopening federal agencies, and no senators changed their votes from recent days.
The funding lapse has forced offices, national parks and other federal government operations to close or curtail operations, while employees have been furloughed. Signs of strain have mounted in recent days, with staffing shortages reported at airports across the US as well as air traffic control centres. Further disruptions may come next week when US military personnel and other federal workers who remain on the job will not receive paychecks, unless the government reopens.
Democrats are demanding that any bill to fund the government be paired with an array of healthcare-centred provisions, including an extension of premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans. Those expire at the end of the year, and costs are set to rise for the plans’ roughly 20 million enrollees if they are not renewed. Donald Trump has sought to pressure the Democrats to accept the GOP’s proposal, which would only extend funding through 21 November.
Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said at a press conference that federal employees should be paid, despite a White House memo arguing they were not entitled to back pay. Johnson alleged that top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer was opposing the Republican bill out of fear from a primary challenge by the “communists” in his party. In a speech on the Senate floor, Schumer once again faulted Republicans for refusing to negotiate on the Democrats’ healthcare demands.
While both parties’ rank-and-file lawmakers have appeared united, the GOP suffered a high-profile defection when far-right lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene backed negotiations over the tax credits. Virginia Republican congresswoman Jen Kiggans has received bipartisan support for legislation that would extend the credits for a year, but top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries called the idea a “nonstarter”.
