Donald Trump has reversed his previous stance and plans to host a bipartisan meeting with the top four U.S. congressional leaders at the White House on Monday afternoon. With a government shutdown on the horizon, this call is especially timely. If we fail to come to an agreement on extending the deadlines, it may come as soon as Wednesday morning. House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed Trump’s intention to lead this crucial discussion.
The looming shutdown threatens to disrupt government operations, with the White House instructing agencies to prepare for potential furloughs or layoffs of numerous employees. This dire reality has heightened discussions of how to prioritize funding. This time, Democrats are conditioning their support on extending healthcare protections set to expire. At the same time, proposed Republican spending cuts would hurt millions of Americans.
As Senate Minority Whip John Thune put it, “the ball is in their court.” He reiterated that the first moves going forward will be dependent on ongoing discussions between leaders of both parties. Trump and other Republicans have accused Democrats of leveraging the shutdown threat to push their agenda, while Democrats have countered that Republicans are enabling Trump by granting him a “complete blank check” for his initiatives.
In a detailed conversation with Robert Costa, Trump described the possibility of a government shutdown as “likely at this point.” He pointed out that both sides seem to be deadlocked, increasing fears about the immediacy of the issue. Johnson and Thune will be on stage with Trump for an interview in the Oval Office. They’ll be followed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Chuck Schumer expressed cautious optimism, stating, “I’m hopeful we can get something real done,” though he acknowledged uncertainty surrounding Trump’s mood going into the meeting.
Jeffries underscored the stakes involved in the negotiations, asserting that failing to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits would result in “more than 20 million Americans…experiencing dramatically increased premiums, copays, deductibles.” He noted the importance of continued bipartisan discussion to prevent a shutdown.
“We’ve made clear that we’re ready, willing and able to sit down with anyone, at any time and at any place, in order to make sure that we can actually fund the government, avoid a painful Republican caused shutdown, and address the healthcare crisis that [Republicans] have caused that’s affecting everyday Americans.” – Hakeem Jeffries
Johnson is adamant that any negotiations should focus solely on funding the government and preventing a shutdown. He contends that this is the wrong time to shape healthcare policy.
“The Obamacare subsidies is a policy debate that has to be determined by the end of the year, not right now, while we’re simply trying to keep the government open so we can have all these debates.” – Mike Johnson
Additionally, he announced that the proposed C.R. is free of every single partisan C.U. policy priority and policy rider. He made sure to take the good faith step of finding additional time to negotiate more.
Tempers are running high. Schumer cautioned that if Trump approaches the meeting with professorial pique—more interested in voicing discontent than in striking a deal—we’ll be hard-pressed to get much done.
“If the president at this meeting is going to rant, and just yell at Democrats, and talk about all his alleged grievances…we won’t get anything done.” – Chuck Schumer
This political climate is just a symptom of the greater causes of the deepening partisan divide. It’s not just Democrats who are united in their demands. Republicans accuse Democrats of using the budget as a weapon to force them to comply with other demands.
“What the Democrats have done is take the federal government as a hostage, and by extension the American people, to try [to] get a whole laundry list of things that they want.” – Mike Johnson
Chris Van Hollen, supercharged by climate activists, made this point with gusto. He pointed to Trump’s recent threat to cause a government shutdown if he doesn’t get his way on healthcare costs. He pointed to the nearly-passed House bill currently awaiting Senate floor action. If they move quickly, it could save us from a painful shutdown once again.
“There is a bill sitting at the desk in the Senate right now; we could pick it up today and pass it…to keep the government open.” – Hakeem Jeffries
With each side still dug in to their respective trenches, we don’t know what will happen to Monday’s negotiations. The stakes couldn’t be higher! That’s what millions of Americans—including many of you—are right now hoping to see, as new budget decisions coalesce in the coming fiscal storm.