By Orlin Milinov
With no indication of an agreement between President Donald Trump’s Republicans and Democrats to resolve the problem, the US government shutdown started its second week on Monday.
Unless the two parties can agree to extend expired “Obamacare” health care subsidies, Democrats are refusing to give the ruling Republicans the few votes they need to reopen federal offices.
Senate Democrats appeared destined to vote against a temporary funding package passed by the House for the seventh time, as the government has been operating at a standstill since Wednesday due to a lack of funds.
In a time when Trump and his ultra-loyal Republicans control every arm of government, and Trump is accused of attempting to acquire authoritarian-like powers, Democrats’ tough stance represents a unique opportunity for the opposition party to gain leverage.
Non-essential services are being suspended since funding has not been renewed.
While military troops may not receive their first payment on October 15, hundreds of thousands of public sector workers will have their salaries withheld starting Friday.
Additionally, Trump has drastically escalated the situation by threatening to fire a significant number of government workers instead of merely furloughing them, as has been done in each other shutdown over the years.
With House Speaker Mike Johnson warning his members not to even visit Congress until the Democrats give in, Republicans are putting more pressure on them.
In a statement, Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated, “House Republicans believe that safeguarding the health care of regular Americans is less important than their vacation.”
“We disagree strongly.”
The red herring
Johnson, who claimed to have handled the matter in a comprehensive domestic policy measure signed into law by Trump in July, argued that Democrats had used health spending as a red herring to compel a shutdown.
“The Republican Party is the one that is constantly trying to improve health care. For us, it’s not talking points. At the US Capitol, Johnson informed reporters, “We’ve done it.”
Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Act” would actually deprive 11 million Americans of health insurance, according to the impartial Congressional Budget Office. This would primarily occur through changes to the Medicaid program for low-income families.
In addition, Democrats estimate that if Obamacare health insurance subsidies are not renewed, four million Americans will lose their health care next year, and another 24 million Americans will see their rates increase.
Republicans contend that the expiring health care subsidies can be resolved independently before the year ends and have nothing to do with maintaining government operations.
According to The New York Times, the agencies that have been severely hurt by staff being furloughed, or put on enforced leave, during the shutdown are the Environmental Protection Agency, Education, Housing, Commerce, and Labor.
According to the Times analysis, the departments that have been least affected thus far are Justice, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Treasury and Office of Personnel Management.
Republicans are narrowly blamed by the public for the stalemate, according to a CBS News survey released Sunday, with members of Congress at home and no official negotiations occurring in either chamber.
White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett stated on Sunday that layoffs would start “if the president decides that the negotiations are absolutely going nowhere.”
Since assuming office in January for his second term, Trump has already pushed through the government with a vengeance.
Republicans are narrowly blamed by the public for the stalemate, according to a CBS News survey released Sunday, with members of Congress at home and no official negotiations occurring in either chamber.
According to the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service, 200,000 government jobs had already been eliminated before to the shutdown, led by entrepreneur Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
