Unless someone pulls a rabbit out of somewhere before midnight, the federal government will shut down when the clock strikes 12 tonight, after the Senate rejected two temporary funding bills (continuing resolutions), five hours before the deadline.
One resolution, sponsored by Democrats, was rejected 47-53 along party lines, while the Republican CR failed by 44-45.
Democrats insisted on the need to reverse healthcare related spending provisions contained in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and make COVID-era ACA enhanced premium tax credits permanent.
Republicans wanterd a short-term extension of current spending levels while lawmakers finalize appropriations for 2026.
So - get ready for LOTS of fun articles detailing the machinations of this bullshit over the next 2-3 weeks, and consider supporting ZeroHedge with the purchase of a hat or shirt, or some patches, or a cool knife while you're waiting for DC to figure out how they're going to spend more of your money.
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Meanwhile, the White House has ordered agenices to begin implementing government shutdown plans.
Did the Democrats walk into a trap?
As the Epoch Times notes further, Democrats say their plan is necessary to prevent a loss of health coverage by tens of millions of people and avoid a sharp increase in health insurance premiums.
Republicans have said the Democrats’ proposal would add $1.5 trillion in spending and is an unserious starting point for discussions.
A Sept. 29 meeting of congressional leaders with President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, failed to produce a resolution.
Ahead of the Senate vote, both parties doubled down on their position.
Democrats repeated their ideas that health care reform is vitally important and requires immediate action.
“Health care creates an urgency,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told The Epoch Times on Sept. 30. “Republicans are saying, ‘Agree to a clean CR and we'll talk about this stuff later.’ But people get sick regardless of the Republican timetable.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) told reporters she would not trust Republicans’ word that they would negotiate over health care during the normal appropriations process.
“There’s no trust,” DeLauro said. “Remember McCarthy–Biden, they walked away from the deal,” she added, referring to a negotiated spending agreement in 2023 that was not passed into legislation.
Republicans continued to say that Democrats’ insistence on placing complex health-related negotiations on a short-term spending agreement was confusing and unnecessary.
“They’re kind of all over the map,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told The Epoch Times. “I can’t tell what they want.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Sept. 29 that he had made proposals to Republicans related to health care, but did not specify what they were.
When asked by The Epoch Times which health care issues Democrats were advancing, Blumenthal spoke instead about the urgency of addressing health care, adding, “I think it ends with some serious compromise on health care.”
During a White House press conference, Trump said the administration could do things that are “irreversible” during a shutdown, such as “cutting vast numbers” of federal workers.
“I think the record shows that he is firing people regardless of the shutdown,” Blumenthal said. “He just seems to be on that path.”
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) expressed optimism that the two sides could strike a deal centered on extending ACA enhanced premium tax credits.
“I just don’t think you’re going to have that much opposition on either side to giving an extension this year to the Obamacare subsidies,” Rounds told The Epoch Times.
Rounds said that could be coupled with a 45-day continuing resolution to allow further appropriations work. However, he said: “I don’t know whether Democrat leadership can actually accept not going to a shutdown. They may very well feel they have to do a shutdown just to show their far left base that they'll do it.”
Jackson Richman contributed to this report.