The clock is ticking
The U.S. government could be only hours away from shutting down. The funding for federal business will run out at midnight if Congress doesn’t come to an agreement. At the moment, there is little likelihood of such an agreement.
Republicans and Democrats have been locked in a bitter fight for weeks. At issue is whether to keep billions of dollars’ worth of subsidies that keep health coverage under the Affordable Care Act—commonly referred to as “Obamacare”—more affordable.
If Congress fails to agree, this would be the first government shutdown in President Donald Trump’s second term in office.
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A meeting that went nowhere
On Monday afternoon, President Trump met in an eleventh-hour attempt to prevent a shutdown with the top leaders of both parties at the White House. There were great expectations that this meeting would put an end to the impasse. Instead, nothing was done.
Then Democrats and Republicans parted ways, accusing each other. Democrats blamed Trump and his party for refusing to extend subsidies in healthcare. Republicans accused Democrats of taking the entire government budget hostage over a single demand.
That leaves both sides dug in firmly as the clock ticks down.
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What the Senate will do next
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, says the Senate will vote again on the GOP plan to fund the government. But there’s a catch: Democrats have already rejected this plan.
The Republican plan would fund the government temporarily but not continue the Obamacare subsidies. Democrats say that’s not enough. They argue the subsidies are too critical to leave out of the deal.
Thune’s strategy is to put more pressure on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democrats. But Schumer replies that it’s now up to President Trump and Republican leaders to cut a deal.
What Each Side Is Saying: Schumer was resolute last Monday evening.
He told reporters, “It’s now in the president’s hands. He can prevent a shutdown if he gets the Republican leader to agree to what we want.”
Republicans are different. Republicans claim that Democrats are risking the shutdown just for the sake of winning the one battle over subsidies. Some say it is even reckless.
Not even Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, who prefers to keep the health subsidies personally, thinks Democrats ought to tie them in with funding the government.
“I don’t see the linkage between closing down government and that,” Hawley responded. He indicated that he would be open to addressing health care, but believes that money from the government ought to be addressed separately.
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What would a shutdown mean?
If Congress cannot reach a compromise, many government services will be disrupted or suspended. Federal workers could be sent home without pay, national parks could close, and a few government programs could be delayed.
Essential services like Social Security benefits, military activities, and air traffic control would remain open, but there would be hardship for millions of Americans.
Shutdowns also generate economic uncertainty. Businesses that depend on government contracts suffer, and the stock market generally doesn’t like it when Washington deadlock gets this ugly.
A political game of pressure
Both sides are now threatening to use the spectre of a shutdown. Republicans believe the Democrats will be blamed if the government shuts down due to health subsidies. Democrats believe the voters will fault Republicans for not bargaining.
Neither is eager to take the blame, especially with public opinion having such a dominant voice in the politics of the day. That is why the next few hours are so important.
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Final hours, unpredictable outcome
With less than 24 hours to go, the mood seems tense and unresolved. The vote may occur again in the Senate, but if Democrats filibuster once more, the government will be out of money at midnight.
The future is uncertain based on whether a side blinks—or both sides let the shutdown begin. For now, Americans can only wait and see if their politicians can work some sort of compromise into place in time.
