With a government shutdown only hours away, Democrats and Republicans remained locked in a bitter standoff Tuesday, trading blame while hundreds of thousands of federal workers braced for furloughs or layoffs, according to the Associated Press.
The shutdown would begin at 12:01 a.m. (EST) Wednesday if lawmakers fail to extend funding.
The Senate spent Tuesday evening voting on a House bill that would keep the government running for seven weeks.
Earlier in the day, Democrats rejected a proposal that would extend federal spending and health care benefits set to expire at year’s end.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer accused Republicans of refusing to negotiate and said President Donald Trump controls the impasse.
“It’s only the president who can do this. We know he runs the show here,” Schumer said after a White House meeting yielded no progress.
Trump and Republican leaders insisted their plan was a “clean” measure that should not be controversial.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the GOP would not be “held hostage” to Democrats’ demands.
The Republican-controlled House had already left Washington for a recess, preventing any immediate vote even if a deal emerged.
The stalemate centers on health care. Democrats are demanding that expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies, first introduced during the pandemic, be extended before they expire Dec. 31.
They also want cuts to Medicaid reversed and assurances that the White House will not rescind previously approved funding.
Without the subsidies, millions could see insurance premiums rise as much as 65 percent during open enrollment this fall, according to Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene.
Republicans argue the two sides should address health care later, with Thune saying Democrats should vote to keep the government open until Nov. 21.
Some Republicans have signaled they might support extending subsidies, but many remain opposed.
The White House meeting Monday, Trump’s first with congressional leaders since returning to office, quickly devolved.
Hours later, the president posted a doctored video appearing to mock Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Jeffries condemned the video as “racist and fake AI.” Schumer criticized Trump for “trolling on the Internet like a 10-year-old.”
The looming shutdown is especially concerning for Washington state, which is home to about 77,000 federal workers.
“We should be able to make sure we are protecting our healthcare and keeping the government open,” DelBene said in an interview, warning that national parks, federal services, and agencies would be among the first affected.
Washington GOP Chairman Jim Walsh (R) said shutdowns tend to be exaggerated and short-lived.
“Programs that are essential are not interrupted. And while some federal employees get furloughed, generally, they all get hired back at the end of the shutdown period,” he said.
Still, the potential impacts are significant.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that around 750,000 federal workers could be furloughed each day.
Past shutdowns have disrupted airports, paychecks, and public services.
The Port of Seattle, which includes Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, said it would remain fully open and operational during the potential shutdown.
The last one, which stretched 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019, became the longest in U.S. history.
For now, both sides remain dug in.
Democrats say Republicans will be responsible if the government shutters, while Republicans accuse Democrats of holding up funding over partisan demands.
As Schumer put it Tuesday, “We have less than a day to figure this out.”