Government shutdown looms as partisan divide widens
On the final day before a potential government shutdown, hope is fading for compromise on Capitol Hill.
(NBC)- On the final day before a potential government shutdown, hope is fading for compromise on Capitol Hill.
Vice President J.D. Vance predicted the government would close, saying: “I think we’re headed to a shutdown because the Democrats won’t do the right thing.”
After top congressional leaders met with President Donald Trump and Vice President Vance, both sides continued to trade blame. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) criticized Republicans, saying: “Their bill has not one iota of Democratic input. That is never how we’ve done this before.”
Republicans remain adamant that Senate Democrats should support a short-term funding bill passed in the House without bipartisan backing. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) argued: “There’s nothing partisan in here, no policy riders, none of our big party preferences.”
Democrats, however, are holding out to reverse healthcare cuts and extend Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year. Schumer pushed back on GOP assurances that the issue could be addressed later: “When they say later, they mean never. We have to do it now.”
President Trump has suggested a shutdown could lead to mass firings of federal workers, dismissing Democrats’ demands as “unserious and ridiculous.”
The political fight took an unusual turn when Trump posted a manipulated video online, showing House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries with a sombrero and featuring a doctored speech from Schumer. Schumer blasted the video, saying: “If you think your shutdown is a joke, it proves you can’t negotiate. You can only throw tantrums.” Jeffries added: “Bigotry will get you nowhere.”
The sharp exchanges underscore just how far apart the two parties remain as federal employees brace for missed paychecks. Lorie McCann, president of the National Treasury Employees Union’s Chicago chapter, said workers are “very, very concerned about the next few days, very stressed, very anxious.”
With the midnight deadline looming, the nation faces the possibility of another disruptive government shutdown.
