As Congress approaches an end-of-September deadline to fund the government and avert a shutdown, Democrats are trying to get their pound of flesh in exchange for any deal.
On Friday, the House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution (CR) to extend Biden-era funding for seven weeks and buy time for a more long-term funding deal. Every House Democrat, except for Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, voted against it.
In the Senate, where seven Democrat votes in favor would be required to end debate, an initial attempt to advance the stopgap funding bill failed Friday when every Democrat voted against consideration of the CR, except for Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.
On the Republican side, Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska also voted against moving forward with the CR, with Murkowski arguing the CR should be attached to appropriations bills and address expiring health care tax credits. Paul opposed it because of its lack of spending cuts.
Now, Democrat leaders are demanding a meeting with President Donald Trump and are asking for major concessions that would extend expiring health care tax credits and hamstring the administration’s ability to rescind appropriated funds in the future, in exchange for the seven-week funding deal.
“We write to demand a meeting in connection with your decision to shut down the federal government because of the Republican desire to continue to gut the health care of the American people,” reads a letter to Trump from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his Senate counterpart, Chuck Schumer, both D-N.Y.
The letter, which includes a laundry list of demands relating to health care, says that “it is now your obligation to meet with us directly to reach an agreement to keep the government open and address the Republican health care crisis.”
Trump, thus far, has indicated he does not think granting Democrats concessions would lead to any progress.
“They’re deranged. If we gave them everything they wanted, they wouldn’t accept, in my opinion. You know, they say, oh, they want to meet with me. It’s nonsense, but I’ll meet with them,” Trump recently told reporters aboard Air Force One.
For now, it appears that this funding fight will be a protracted staring contest to see which side blinks first.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has said he is open to negotiation on the issue of expiring health care premium tax credits, but has rejected the idea of a seven-week CR being the vehicle for the extension.
The Republican tactic may be to proceed with a last-minute vote to see if Democrats have the guts to shut down the government. The Senate is scheduled to return on Sept. 29, just a day before the end of the fiscal year and funding runs out. The House is scheduled to return on Oct. 1, essentially forcing Senate Democrats to take or leave a CR.
“If they want to shut down the government, they have the power to do so, but if they think they are going to gain political points from shutting down the government over a clean, nonpartisan CR, something they voted for 13 times under the Biden administration, I would strongly urge them to think again,” Thune has said of the Democrats in opposition.
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