Shutdown progress in doubt as Democrats grow emboldened from election wins
Washington: Elections this week that energised Democrats and angered President Donald Trump have cast a chill over efforts to end the record-breaking government shutdown, raising fresh doubts about the possibility of a breakthrough despite the punishing toll of federal closures on the country.
Trump has increased pressure on Senate Republicans to end the shutdown — now at 37 days, the longest in US history — calling it a “big factor, negative” in the poor GOP showings across the country.
Democrats saw Trump’s comments as a reason to hold firm, believing his involvement in talks could lead to a deal on extending health care subsidies, a key sticking point to win their support. Trump is refusing to meet with Democrats, insisting they must open the government first. But complicating the GOP’s strategy, Trump is increasingly fixated instead on pushing Republicans to scrap the Senate filibuster to speed reopening — a step that many GOP senators reject out of hand. He kept up the pressure in a video Wednesday evening, saying the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to pass legislation should be “terminated.”
“This is much bigger than the shutdown,” Trump said. “This is the survival of our country.”
Many see the Democrats’ decisive gubernatorial wins in Virginia and New Jersey as validation of their strategy to hold the government closed until expiring health care subsidies are addressed.
“It would be very strange for the American people to have weighed in, in support of Democrats standing up and fighting for them, and within days for us to surrender without having achieved any of the things that we’ve been fighting for,” said Sen Chris Murphy, D-Conn.
Meanwhile, talks grind on, but the shutdown’s toll continues to deepen. On Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced plans to reduce air traffic by 10 per cent across 40 high-volume markets beginning Friday morning to maintain safety amid staffing shortages.
Millions of people have already been affected by halted government programmes.
