Washington The government shutdown has entered its 36th day, breaking the record as the longest ever and disrupting the lives of millions of Americans with federal program cuts, flight delays and federal workers nationwide left without paychecks.
President Donald Trump has refused to negotiate with Democrats over their demands to salvage expiring health insurance subsidies until they agree to reopen the government.
But sceptical Democrats question whether the Republican president will keep his word, particularly after the administration restricted SNAP food
aid, despite court orders to ensure funds are available to prevent hunger.
Trump, whose first term at the White House set the previous government shutdown record, is set to meet early Wednesday for breakfast with GOP senators. But no talks have been scheduled with the Democrats.
“Why is this happening? We’re in a shutdown because our colleagues are unwilling to come to the table to talk about one simple thing: health care premiums,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., in a late evening speech.
“Stop this mess, come to the table, negotiate it,” she said.
With Trump largely on the sidelines, talks have intensified among a loose coalition of centrist senators trying to negotiate an end to the stalemate. Expectations are high that the logjam would break once election results were
fully tallied in Tuesday’s off-year races that were widely watched as a gauge of voter sentiment over Trump’s second term in the White House. Democrats swept key contests for governor in Virginia and New Jersey, and the New York City mayor’s race, which is certain to shake up the political assessments.
But earlier in the afternoon, Senate Democrats left an hours-long private meeting stone-faced, with no certain path forward.
“We’re exploring all the options,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said afterwards.
Trump’s approach to this shutdown stands in marked contrast to his first term, when the government was partially closed for 35 days over his demands for funds to build the US-Mexico border wall.
At that time, he met publicly and negotiated with congressional leaders, but unable to secure the funds, he relented in 2019.
This time, it’s not just Trump declining to engage in talks.