The Latest: Democrats insist upon health care demands as government shutdown begins

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The U.S. is confronting a fresh cycle of uncertainty after President Donald Trump and Congress failed to strike an agreement to keep government programs and services running by Wednesday’s deadline. Disagreement stemmed from a deadlock in Congress over Democratic demands over health care — and Republican efforts to kick that can down the road.

At issue are tax credits that have made health insurance through the Affordable Care Act more affordable for millions of people since the COVID-19 pandemic. The credits are set to expire at the end of the year if Congress doesn’t extend them — which would more than double what subsidized enrollees currently pay for health insurance premiums, according to a KFF analysis.

Here's the latest:

South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds emerged from a large bipartisan gathering on the Senate floor saying that “a lot of people would really like to find a path forward.”

“But it requires, first of all, to get the government open again,” said Rounds. “And the proposal on the table is 45 days. And then we start working on the issues that divide us.”

Rounds said that the “most reasonable” way to deal with ACA tax credits is to extend them for one year, “but with an agreement at the same time to get it back to pre-pandemic over the next two years.”

Rounds added that any deal is “not going to happen for a while yet.”

On the heels of a failed vote to reopen the government, some rank-and-file senators were leaving the Senate floor with a hint of optimism after they discussed an idea to extend tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans by one year.

“I’m glad we’re talking,” said Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat.

A deal is still a long way off from being struck. Any negotiation requires ironing out details and crucially, it would require sign off from House Republican leadership and President Donald Trump.

Officials are looking forward to when the Supreme Court hears the case early next year.

“President Trump lawfully removed Lisa Cook for cause from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. We look forward to ultimate victory after presenting our oral arguments before the Supreme Court in January,” said White House spokesperson Kush Desai.

A GOP bill to fund the government mostly at current levels has failed for a second day in the Senate.

The bill fell along a similar vote pattern as Tuesday night as most Democrats continued to hold out and demand that Congress take up health care benefits.

A huddle between rank-and-file senators — both Republicans and Democrats — has only grown as they engage in a long conversation on the Senate floor.

The huddle has been spurred by Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican, who has floated an idea to extend tax credits for Affordable Care Act health plans for one year.

The huddle has grown to nearly a dozen senators.

Two women who are among the Senate’s most likely to work across the aisle — Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen — are engaged in another long conversation in the Senate chamber.

Shaheen also spoke with Murkowski on Tuesday night before casting her vote against the GOP bill to keep the government open. Shaheen has made it clear she does not want a government shutdown, but at the same time, she is pushing for an extension of tax credits for health plans under the Affordable Care Act.

When the Senate hits an impasse like this, across-the-aisle relationships become crucial

Federal department websites adopt divergent — and at times partisan — strategies in public messaging on government shutdown

“The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need,” reads a message greeting visitors to the official website of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“Due to the Radical Left Democrat shutdown, this government website will not be updated during the funding lapse. President Trump has made it clear he wants to keep the government open and support those who feed, fuel, and clothe the American people,” reads another message on the Agriculture Department’s official website.

“Democrats have shut down the government,” reads a pop up message at the top of the Justice Department’s website.

Websites for the Commerce, State and Transportation Departments included notices that webpages may experience delayed updates due to “a lapse in appropriations” but did not include references ascribing partisan blame.

Agencies including the Treasury and Health and Human Services Departments did not immediately display any references to the shutdown.

The homepage for the White House website has added a red banner running across the top with, “Democrat Shutdown,” and a “Watch Now” button.

Click on the button and viewers will see a video montage of various Senate Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, decrying the use of government shutdowns as a negotiating tactic.

The video is also being played on a loop in the White House press briefing room.

The homepage also has a clock ticking off the hours, minutes and seconds that have passed since the shutdown began early Wednesday.

Republicans’ bill that would reopen the government looks like its going to fail again in the Senate.

It would need at least 60 votes to advance to a final vote, but over 40 Democrats have already cast votes against it.

While senators can change while the vote is open, so far there has been no movement on the bill. The only members of the Democratic Caucus who voted for the bill are the same from Tuesday night.

So far, the Senate vote to advance the Republicans’ bill that would reopen the government has fallen along the same voting pattern as it did when it failed Tuesday night.

The same three members of the Democratic Caucus who voted for it — Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, John Fetterman and Angus King — have voted for it again. But no other Democrat has.

House Democratic leaders say President Trump will need to be in the room when it comes to any possible agreement to end the government shutdown.

“I don’t think we trust any deal without Donald Trump in the room as part of it,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar, chair of the House Democratic Caucus. “House Republicans have proven that even if they agree to something, they have to go back to him to bless it.”

Aguilar also said Republicans need to engage with Democrats to fund the government.

“We are saying ‘let’s avoid this shutdown, let’s end this and let’s have conversations about what’s necessary to fix the health care crisis that you have created,’” Aguilar said.

Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican, has attracted a huddle of Democratic senators in the chamber.

Rounds has been floating an idea to extend tax credits for health care plans offered under the Affordable Care Act for one year before they’re ramped down to levels before the COVID-19 pandemic.

A proposal from Democrats to reopen the government and extend health care benefits has failed on a 47-53 party line vote. Now senators will be voting whether to advance Republicans’ proposal to keep funding mostly at current levels for seven weeks.

The bill also failed Tuesday night, but Republican leaders are hoping they can get a few more Democrats to vote for the proposal.

Here’s the members of the Democratic Caucus who voted for the GOP bill Tuesday night:

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada

Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania

Sen. Angus S. King Jr. of Maine

The Senate is voting on a proposal from Democrats that would reopen the government as well as enact their priorities on health care, but it’s failing along party lines.

More than 50 GOP senators have already voted against the legislation, meaning it will fall well short of the 60 votes needed to advance in the Senate.

Lawmakers will next vote on the Republican proposal that would keep government funding mostly at current levels, but no Democrat has publicly revealed they will change their vote from Tuesday night, when the legislation failed.

The State Department has issued revised guidance regarding the impact of the government shutdown on its employees, boosting the number of furlough-exempted staffers by more than 6,000.

In a document published early Wednesday, the department said 16,864 direct-hire U.S.-based employees would not be subject to the furlough, up from 10,344 that it had identified as exempt on Monday. The reason for the change wasn’t given. The revised shutdown plan also raised the total estimate of U.S.-based direct-hire employees from 26,995 to 27,300.

The revision means 10,436 department employees in the U.S. will be furloughed during the shutdown.

There are still no plans for permanent layoffs at the department as a result of the shutdown and all U.S. embassies and consulates will remain open, with passport and visa services continuing uninterrupted.

The Senate chamber is being closely watched, especially for conversations among lawmakers from opposing parties.

While senators often engage in friendly banter or discussions on unrelated business, during crucial votes the Senate chamber becomes a key spot for negotiation, persuasion and bipartisan relationship building.

During the vote series Tuesday night that set up the government shutdown, a few Democrats engaged in talks with their Republican colleagues. A few Democrats, including Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, were thought to be waffling on their votes against the GOP’s government funding bill and spoke with their Republican counterparts on the Senate floor.

Senators are making their way into the chamber to vote on a Democratic proposal that would reopen the government as well as extend health care benefits.

The bill has failed mostly along party lines each of the times it has previously come up for a vote.

While tourists bustled outside the U.S. Capitol and a group of young children gathered on the steps Wednesday morning, the halls inside were quiet and mostly empty, a stark sign of the first day of the federal government shutdown.

Public tours of the U.S. Capitol — and the Capitol Visitor Center — will remain suspended until government funding resumes.

The court declined to act on the Trump administration’s effort to immediately remove her from the central bank.

In a brief unsigned order, the high court said it would hear arguments in January over President Trump’s effort to force Cook off the Fed board.

Republicans at a Capitol news conference recounted Democratic lawmakers’ warnings over the years about the damage government shutdowns cause.

“They always said that shutting the government down would be dangerous, destructive, selfish and irresponsible,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said. “And suddenly, now they’ve changed their tune. Don’t buy it. The American people are not buying it.”

Republicans used the news conference to try and put pressure on Democrats to pass a short-term spending bill that generally funds the government at current levels for a few more weeks.

But Democrats are insisting the measure include provisions that would keep health insurance premiums from soaring for millions of Americans who purchase coverage through the marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act. Enhanced tax credits that help make the coverage more affordable expire at the end of the year unless Congress acts.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is trying to wear Democrats down and pick them off one-by-one as he holds another vote Wednesday morning on a bill that would fund the government mostly at current levels.

“We are one just one Senate roll call vote away from ending the shutdown,” Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said in a floor speech. “We need a handful of Democrats to join Republicans to reopen the government.”

Republican leaders have jumped on the fact that three members of the Democratic Caucus voted for their funding bill Tuesday night, but they will need a lot more than that at the 11 a.m. vote series. It would likely take eight Democrats to pass the bill because Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, is also voting against it.

White House budget director Russ Vought says he’s putting a hold on roughly $18 billion to fund New York City’s Hudson Tunnel and Second Avenue subway projects.

Vought posted on X that the hold was being put in place out of the administration’s belief that the funding was “based on unconstitutional DEI principles.” The term “DEI” stands for diversity, equity and inclusion.

But an administration official, insisting on anonymity to discuss the hold, said the government shutdown that started at midnight meant the Transportation Department workers responsible for reimbursing workers on the projects had been furloughed, so the money was being withheld.

— Josh Boak

Sen. Chuck Schumer is rebutting President Trump’s repeated claims that immigrants without legal status would benefit from tax credits for health plans offered under the Affordable Care Act.

Democrats are demanding that the tax credits be extended in exchange for their votes to reopen the government, but the White House has repeatedly argued that those demands would benefit immigrants without legal status.

“It’s a lie so lazy and so outlandish it’s easy to rebut. But again, let me be clear, undocumented people cannot and will not receive premium tax credit by law,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, said.

Indeed, it’s been longstanding federal policy that immigrants without legal status are ineligible for federally-funded health care coverage.

President Trump has signed an executive order vowing to use all measures including U.S. military action to defend the energy-rich nation of Qatar — though it remains unclear just what weight the pledge will carry.

The text of the order, available Wednesday on the White House’s website but dated Monday, appears to be another measure by Trump to assure the Qataris following Israel’s surprise attack on the country targeting Hamas leaders as they weighed accepting a ceasefire with Israel over the war in the Gaza Strip.

The order cites the two countries’ “close cooperation” and “shared interest,” vowing to “guarantee the security and territorial integrity of the state of Qatar against external attack.”

“The United States shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty or critical infrastructure of the state of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States,” the order says.

▶ Read more about the executive order on Qatar

The Senate Democratic leader isn’t backing away from his demands that Republicans negotiate with his caucus on health care programs before they vote to reopen the government.

In a floor speech, the New York Democrat said, “Democrats want to avert this crisis, but Republicans tried to bully us, and it’s clear they can’t. They don’t have the votes.”

Schumer says Republicans haven’t been willing to negotiate for their votes on a temporary funding bill and instead are demanding that they support the legislation without any input.

Republican Sen. John Barrasso said “cracks started to appear” in the Senate on Tuesday among Democrats when three voted on a GOP measure to fund the government.

Republican leaders at a Wednesday news conference pushed more Democrats to join them in another vote schedule later in the day.

“There’s another vote today in the Senate and hopefully Senate Democrats will do the right thing,” said GOP Sen. Tom Cotton.

The government’s overnight shutdown stemmed from a deadlock in Congress over Democratic demands over health care — and Republican efforts to kick that can down the road.

At issue are tax credits that have made health insurance through the Affordable Care Act more affordable for millions of people since the COVID-19 pandemic. The credits are set to expire at the end of the year if Congress doesn’t extend them — which would more than double what subsidized enrollees pay for health insurance premiums, according to a KFF analysis.

Democrats are demanding the subsidies be extended now, with enrollees set to get notices soon alerting them of next year’s insurance spikes. They also want Republicans to reverse the Medicaid cuts that were enacted in Trump’s big bill over the summer, and for the White House to promise it won’t move to rescind congressional spending.

Republicans say there’s still time to negotiate on health care this year, but stopgap funding for the government is the priority. They say they offered Democrats a stripped-down, noncontroversial bill and they should vote for it to keep the government running.

Congressional Republican leaders launched the first morning of the shutdown by branding it “The Democrats Shutdown,” at a news conference as both parties scrambled to control the narrative.

“At midnight, Democrats followed through on their threat to shut down the American government,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, standing next to Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

Republicans stood beside a television looping past clips of Democrats criticizing previous shutdowns, including one of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez declaring, “It’s not normal to shut down the government if we don’t get what we want.”

On this, at least, the Democrats agree: It’s time to fight.

Whether far-left activists, Washington moderates or rural conservatives, Democratic leaders across the political spectrum are shrugging off the risks and embracing a government shutdown they say is needed to push back against President Trump and his Republican allies in Congress.

For Democrats, the shutdown fight marks a line in the sand born from months of frustration with their inability to stop Trump’s norm-busting leadership. And they’ll continue to fight, regardless of the practical or political consequences, they say.

“It’s a rare point of unification,” said Jim Kessler, of the moderate Democratic group Third Way.

“Absolutely there are risks,” he said. “But you’re hearing it from all wings of the Democratic Party: The fight is the victory. They want a fight. And they’re going to get one.”

As the shutdown begins, there are few signs of cracks across the Democratic Party’s diverse coalition.

▶ Read more about Democrats and the government shutdown

Yes. The U.S. Postal Service is unaffected by a government shutdown. It’s an independent entity funded through the sale of its products and services, not by tax dollars.

“Donald Trump and Republicans have shut the government down because they don’t want to provide healthcare to working-class Americans,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said during an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

When asked whether he was concerned that his party would be blamed for the fallout from a shutdown, Jeffries said Democrats are “united in our resolve” to oppose the current GOP funding plan unless certain healthcare provisions are amended after Democratic input.

During an interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,”Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he and Jeffries had requested meetings with GOP leadership in July to avoid a government shutdown.

“Here’s what we hope,” Schumer said during a CNN interview. “Now that the Republicans have seen they don’t have the votes, they will sit down and negotiate in good faith.”

“Anyone who thinks a shutdown only hurts Washington D.C. or just federal employees is flat-out wrong,” National Treasury Employees Union President Doreen Greenwald said in a statement.

“Disrupting government services and stalling the government payroll is a gut punch to working families everywhere.”

She said federal agency managers did not communicate their shutdown contingency plans with their employees in a timely way, so now many federal workers across the country are scrambling to find out whether they’re required to work today or not.

Census data shows that at least 3,300 civilian federal employees live in every congressional district. NTEU represents employees in 38 federal agencies and offices.

An economic jolt could be felt in a matter of days. The government is expected Friday to produce its monthly jobs report, which may or may not be delivered.

While the financial markets have generally “shrugged” during past shutdowns, according to a Goldman Sachs analysis, this one could be different partly because there are no signs of broader negotiations.

“There are also few good analogies to this week’s potential shutdown,” the analysis said.

Across the government, preparations have been underway. Trump’s Office of Management and Budget, headed by Russ Vought, directed agencies to execute plans for not just furloughs, as are typical during a federal funding lapse, but mass firings of federal workers. It’s part of the Trump administration’s mission, including its Department of Government Efficiency, to shrink the federal government.

In a pair of TV interviews, Vice President JD Vance described how taxpayers will be affected by the shutdown.

He cited people on low-income food programs, potential flight delays for air travelers and service members reporting for duty without getting paid.

“It’s craziness and people are going to suffer because of this,” Vance said on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends.”

The Republican vice president, who was also interviewed on “CBS Mornings,” said the GOP will negotiate with Democrats but only after government resumes operating.

Republicans and Democrats are at odds over extending expiring subsidies that help consumers afford health care insurance.

The Democrats picked this fight, which was unusual for the party that prefers to keep government running, but their voters are eager to challenge the president’s second-term agenda. Democrats are demanding funding for health care subsidies that are expiring for millions of people under the Affordable Care Act, spiking the costs of insurance premiums nationwide.

Republicans have refused to negotiate for now and have encouraged Trump to steer clear of any talks. After the White House meeting, the president posted a cartoonish fake video mocking the Democratic leadership that was widely viewed as unserious and racist.

What neither side has devised is an easy offramp to prevent what could become a protracted closure. The ramifications are certain to spread beyond the political arena, upending the lives of Americans who rely on the government for benefit payments, work contracts and the various services being thrown into turmoil.

Already diminished by cuts by the Trump administration, the U.S. Education Department will see more of its work come to a halt due to the government shutdown.

The department says many of its core operations will continue in the shutdown kicking off Wednesday. Federal financial aid will keep flowing and student loan payments will still be due. But investigations into civil rights complaints will stop, and the department will not issue new federal grants. About 87% of its workforce will be furloughed, according to a department contingency plan.

Since he took office, President Trump has called for the dismantling of the Education Department, saying it has been overrun by liberal thinking. Agency leaders have been making plans to parcel out its operations to other departments, and in July the Supreme Court upheld mass layoffs that halved the department’s staff.

▶ Read more about the shutdown’s effect on the Education Department

All administrations get some leeway to choose which services to freeze and which to maintain in a shutdown.

The first Trump administration worked to blunt the impact of what became the country’s longest partial shutdown in 2018 and 2019. But on Tuesday, Trump threatened the possibility of increasing the pain that comes with a shutdown.

“We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them and irreversible by them,” Trump said of Democrats. “Like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like.”

Each federal agency develops its own shutdown plan. The plans outline which workers would stay on the job during a shutdown and which would be furloughed.

▶ Read more about what happens in a government shutdown

Yes. In 2019, Congress passed a bill enshrining into law the requirement that furloughed employees get retroactive pay once operations resume.

While they’ll eventually get paid, the furloughed workers and those who remain on the job may have to go without one or more of their regular paychecks, depending upon how long the shutdown lasts, creating financial stress for many families.

Service members would also receive back pay for any missed paychecks once federal funding resumes.

A great deal, actually.

FBI investigators, CIA officers, air traffic controllers and agents operating airport checkpoints keep working. So do members of the Armed Forces.

Those programs that rely on mandatory spending generally continue during a shutdown. Social Security payments still go out. Seniors relying on Medicare coverage can still see their doctors and health care providers can be reimbursed.

Veteran health care also continues during a shutdown. Veterans Affairs medical centers and outpatient clinics will be open, and VA benefits will continue to be processed and delivered. Burials will continue at VA national cemeteries.

Now that a lapse in funding has occurred, the law requires agencies to furlough their “non-excepted” employees. Excepted employees, which include those who work to protect life and property, stay on the job but don’t get paid until after the shutdown ends.

The White House Office of Management and Budget begins the process with instructions to agencies that a lapse in appropriations has occurred and they should initiate orderly shutdown activities. That memo went out Tuesday evening.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that roughly 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed each day of the shutdown, with the total daily cost of their compensation at roughly $400 million.