Democratic and Republican leaders remain far apart on how to end the partial shutdown of the US government as another day of voting approaches on Monday.
In separate Sunday interviews with NBC’s Meet the Press, the House’s top Democrat Hakeem Jeffries and its Republican leader Mike Johnson each blamed the other’s party for the continued standoff, which will head to day five on Monday.
The key dividing issue has been healthcare. Democrats want to ensure health insurance subsidies for those with low-income do not expire and aim to reverse cuts to the Medicaid health programme.
A bill to fund the government has passed the House, but has repeatedly failed in the Senate.
Jeffries accused Republicans of “lying” about Democrats’ intentions in the negotiations “because they’re losing the court of public opinion”. But Johnson said Democrats are “not serious” and negotiating in bad faith – “they’re doing this to get political cover”.
The Senate is expected to reconvene Monday afternoon and once again take up a pair of continuing resolutions to fund the government. Meanwhile, House Democrats will meet Monday to discuss the situation. Johnson has extended a House recess through the week, meaning Congress’ lower chamber will not be in session to take up a funding bill should the Senate make any changes and come to a deal.
Republicans hold a narrow majority of 53 seats in the 100-seat Senate, but any funding measure will require 60 votes to pass.
In his interview with NBC, Johnson argued that Democrats’ refusal to approve a short-term spending bill that kept funding at current levels was unnecessary. The healthcare tax credits at issue don’t expire until the end of the year, he said, and a Democratic proposal would add too much new spending in a seven-week stopgap measure.
“We have plenty of time to figure that out,” he said.
He also argued that the tax credits would not help address what he says are major problems with healthcare policy, including “illegal aliens and able-bodied young men without dependents” using Medicaid.
Some Republicans, including Vice-President JD Vance, have cast the Democrats’ position as “trying to give healthcare benefits to illegal aliens”. Democrats have denied those claims and illegal or undocumented immigrants are not eligible for the schemes the Democrats are supporting, BBC Verify reports.
Jeffries told NBC’s Kristen Welker that Democrats feel the consequences of the expiring credits are dire.
“We are standing up for the healthcare of hard-working American taxpayers,” he said. “If Republicans continue to refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credit, tens of millions of American taxpayers are going to experience dramatically increased premiums, copays, and deductibles.”
Jeffries criticised President Donald Trump’s handling of the shutdown and his social media posts aimed at Democrats, saying “that behavior is outrageous”. “We need serious leadership,” he said.
Jeffries added that Republican leaders have stopped communicating with Democrats and accused them of negotiating in bad faith.
“As Democrats, our view is that we will find bipartisan common ground with our Republican colleagues to reopen the government, to actually pass a spending bill that meets the needs of the American people,” Jeffries said. “But we have to decisively address this Republican health care crisis that is devastating hard-working American taxpayers.”
New polling data from CBS, the BBC’s American news partner, has found that Americans view both parties’ handling of the shutdown unfavourably, with President Trump also netting a negative reception.
The survey found that 80% of the nearly 2,500 Americans polled are very or somewhat concerned about the shutdown’s effect on the economy. Only 23% of those surveyed said the Republican position was worth a shutdown, while 28% said the same of Democrats’ argument.
The polling found voters blame Trump and Republicans in Congress most for the situation, at 39%, but Democrats were not far behind at 30%. About 31% of Americans polled said both sides were to blame.
Meanwhile, the consequences of the shutdown are beginning to mount as the shutdown drags into its second week. On Saturday, The National Gallery of Art announced it had to close its doors due to lack of funding.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to use the shutdown to enact mass layoffs across the federal government and cut agencies and services that he says are important to Democrats.
The details of those potential cuts have not been made public. The president has argued it is a chance “to clear out dead wood, waste, and fraud. Billions of Dollars can be saved”.
Johnson was asked about the threats in the Sunday interview, telling NBC that he had not seen details, but “it is a regrettable situation that the president does not want”.
“I want Chuck Schumer to do the right thing that he’s done throughout his 30-plus year career in Congress and vote to keep the government open,” Johnson said, adding that as long as the government was stalled, the White House has “to make tough decisions”.
