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 entrenched in their demands for reopening federal agencies, with no senators changing their votes from recent days.
The funding lapse has forced offices, national parks and other federal operations to close or curtail activities, while employees have been furloughed. Staffing shortages have been reported at airports and air traffic control centres. Further disruption is expected next week when military personnel and other federal workers still on the job will not receive paychecks unless the government reopens.
Democrats are demanding that any funding bill include healthcare provisions, such as extending premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans, which expire at the end of the year. Republicans have proposed extending funding only until 21 November, without the healthcare measures. The Republican speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, dismissed the idea of back pay for federal workers, despite a 2019 law stating they should receive it, though he later said he believed they should be paid.
Johnson accused top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer of opposing the Republican bill out of fear of a primary challenge from the “communists” in his party. Schumer blamed Republicans for refusing to negotiate on healthcare, saying, “We can do both: fix healthcare and reopen the government.”
While both parties’ rank-and-file lawmakers have largely united behind their leaders, far-right Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene backed negotiations over the tax credits. However, no other Republicans have publicly joined her. A potential compromise from Virginia Republican Jen Kiggans to extend the credits for a year was dismissed by top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries as a “nonstarter”.
