Don’t miss the full story from our staff writers, whose reportage is the basis of this article.
The federal government shutdown entered its fifth day Sunday with no clear path to resolution as Democrats and Republicans intensified their blame game. House Speaker Mike Johnson accused Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of prolonging the crisis for political self-preservation, claiming Sen. Schumer fears a 2028 Democratic primary challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Rep. Johnson characterized the potential challenger as “a Marxist” and said Democrats could end the shutdown by supporting the House-approved seven-week stopgap funding bill.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune echoed Rep. Johnson’s criticism, alleging that Sen. Schumer orchestrated the impasse at the urging of “far-left, liberal interest groups” driven by what he called “blind Trump Derangement Syndrome” in their opposition to President Trump.
Democrats presented a sharply different narrative. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused Republicans of going “radio silent” after early negotiations and claimed the GOP is “losing in the court of public opinion.” Rep. Jeffries emphasized that Democrats are fighting to preserve healthcare access for millions of Americans by extending enhanced COVID subsidies for Obamacare, which expire at year’s end, and reversing future Medicaid cuts included in Trump’s legislative package.
The New York Democrat disputed Republican claims that Democrats want to provide healthcare to illegal immigrants, calling such assertions “lies.” He noted that federal law explicitly prohibits using taxpayer dollars for undocumented immigrants’ healthcare, though some observers point out that certain categories of immigrants, including those with Temporary Protected Status and some asylum seekers, may qualify for specific health benefits.
Republicans maintain their “clean” continuing resolution to fund government operations through Nov. 21 represents the best solution, allowing additional negotiation time on healthcare issues. However, the proposal failed to gain necessary Democratic support in the Senate, where only three Democrats voted for the GOP measure despite needing eight to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold.
Sen. Schumer warned the deadlock will persist unless Republicans agree to a bipartisan deal addressing Democratic healthcare priorities. The Democratic proposal includes $1.5 trillion in healthcare and other spending that Republicans have indicated is unacceptable.
Democrats also criticized House Republicans for leaving Washington to avoid votes on releasing Jeffrey Epstein files and confirming Rep. Adelita Grijalva of Arizona to her late father’s seat. Rep. Johnson dismissed these accusations as “totally absurd” and a “red herring,” insisting Sen. Schumer and 43 Senate Democrats bear responsibility for keeping the government closed.
Read more: Shutdown blame game intensifies in Washington as gridlock drags on
This article is written with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence based solely on Washington Times original reporting and wire services. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Ann Wog, Managing Editor for Digital, at awog@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.