The current U.S. government shutdown is now tied for the longest in history. The election results in New York City and other areas on Tuesday are expected to change the political landscape in Washington and may remove one of the obstacles to ending the stalemate.
Once the off-year elections, including the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia and the mayoral race in New York City, are over, both parties will go all out to win control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections. But it remains to be seen whether Tuesday’s voting results will further deepen the divide between the two parties or prompt them to be more willing to compromise.
Some Republicans believe that the reason why Democrats are holding their ground on the government shutdown issue is that they are afraid of angering their progressive supporters before the election. But the major victory that the Democrats achieved on Tuesday may also boost the party’s morale, as the Democrats have had few opportunities to exert influence in Washington under Trump’s administration.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune returned to Washington on Monday after a long weekend and told reporters he was “optimistic” that the government shutdown could end this week.
But he also said that the November 21 deadline set in the temporary spending bill passed by the House of Representatives is no longer sufficient, and that Senate Democrats have rejected the bill about 13 times.
The South Dakota Republican said he plans to vote this week on a longer-term temporary funding bill to give the two parties more time to negotiate a full-year spending bill. A new bill would give Democrats the opportunity to make new demands, such as ensuring back pay for furloughed federal workers or providing other protections for government employees who were a focus of Trump in his first year back in office.
Meanwhile, Democrats continue to insist that Republicans must address the expiration of premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act in any agreement to end the government shutdown. The open enrollment period for 22 million Americans began on November 1, and many will face soaring premiums starting from January 1.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday: “Democrats have been very clear from the start about our position. We need to lower the cost of health care for the American people. We need to reopen the government. We need to extend the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has been in recess since September 19, will have to reconvene and vote on a Senate bill that differs from the one already passed by the House, complicating the process of ending the government shutdown. Republicans, who hold only a slim majority in the House, oppose extending the Affordable Care Act (ACA) premiums in the temporary spending bill.
Johnson said earlier on Monday: “Republicans refuse to accept the unreasonable demands of Democrats.”
As the deadlock in Washington persists, the problems brought about by the government shutdown to the American people are increasingly severe.
