Rep. Mike Johnson says Dems’ stance could lead to the closure on October 1st
House Speaker Mike Johnson says Democrats may force government shutdowns as the deadline is approaching October 1st.
WASHINGTON – Two Congressional Democratic leaders are calling for a meeting with President Donald Trump a day after the Senate defeated a short-term funding bill to avoid government shutdowns.
Democrats have urged Republicans to reverse recent Medicaid funding cuts enacted as part of Trump’s major tax and spending laws and extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies. They refused to attack the funding agreement unless those issues were addressed.
In a letter to Trump on September 20th, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and House minority leader Hicombe Jeffries wrote that they are “prepared to work towards a bipartisan spending agreement that improves the lives of American families and addresses the Republican health crisis.”
“I don’t understand why I want to shut down governments rather than protecting American healthcare and quality of life,” they wrote, adding that it is the president’s “duty” to meet in person with the president and reach an agreement.
On September 19, Trump proposed to reporters that the government could be shut down.
“We’ll continue talking to Democrats, but I think we can become a closed country for a while,” he said. “And we take care of the military. We take care of Social Security. We take care of the things we have to take care of.”
“A lot of the things Democrats fight are often not that good, but they won’t be paid,” he added.
The House narrowly passed the funding bill on September 19, with a vote of 217-212. However, the senator voted against the bill backed by the GOP by a 48-44 vote on the same day.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives are scheduled to take a week’s break. If lawmakers cancel their break and don’t come back next week, they will return on September 29th and give them just two days to avoid a shutdown. Funds expire in the middle of the night on September 30th.
Contribution: Zachary Schermele, USA Today
