Senate Democrats are rejecting Republican overtures to end the government shutdown, leading to accusations that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is keeping the government hostage until all of his partisan demands are met.
A slew of Democrats told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Tuesday that they would not support ending the shutdown in exchange for a subsequent vote on their chief policy request: an extension of enhanced Obamacare subsidies set to expire at the end of the year. Democrats have insisted Republicans can’t be trusted to hold a vote on the subsidies and demand immediate action, even though the tax credits won’t expire until the end of the year.
“There’s no reason for us to wait,” Democratic Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal told the DCNF regarding Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s offer to hold a vote on the expiring Obamacare subsidies. “In fact, on the contrary, we need a commitment right now that the health care tax subsidies will be extended because people are making decisions right now about their health insurance and whether they can afford it.”
“I think one of the things that’s plaguing us right now is a lack of trust. And the way you get over a lack of trust is you get in a room, you look at the whites of each other’s eyes, and you negotiate like adults,” Democratic Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin told the DCNF. “And I’m ready to do that, but a promise that he [Thune] made to the media is not going to cut it.”
Schumer also slammed Thune’s offer to hold a vote on the expiring subsidies in exchange for Democrats ending the shutdown, arguing the proposal was “partisan.”
“The bottom line is that’s no deal,” Schumer told reporters Tuesday at his leadership press conference. “This is a partisan plan that leads the American people high and dry.”
“Later to them means never,” Schumer continued. “We have to get them to the table and negotiate with us now.”
Though Thune has given Democrats an off-ramp to end the shutdown, a vote on Obamacare subsidies would likely face uncertain prospects in both chambers. No Republicans voted for them when they were first enacted under former President Joe Biden and GOP lawmakers have argued the subsidies must be reformed to root out waste and abuse before considering an extension.
Democrats have also shown few signs that they are ready to reopen the government. Schumer led the majority of his caucus in rejecting a bipartisan spending bill to temporarily fund the government for the eleventh time on Monday.
Republicans have said throughout the three-week shutdown that they will not negotiate with Democrats on their partisan policy demands until government funding is restored.
Thune has labeled Schumer’s hardball tactics a “hostage-taking” exercise and argued that Democrats are more interested in scoring political points with their base rather than ending the funding lapse.
“We even offered to give them a vote on a health care proposal of their own design if they vote to reopen the government,” Thune said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “The answer again was no.”
“I don’t know what Democrats are looking for,” Thune continued. “But if they’re looking for Republicans to give in to their hostage-taking, they should think again.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson also voiced frustration on Tuesday that Democrats have not specified their demands to reopen the government.
“The president has nothing to offer them,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “There is literally no issue on the table. Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer himself cannot articulate what it is they’re demanding. They don’t even know among all the Democrats.”
“They’re asking for a solution again to an end of the year issue that wasn’t even on the table yet and they know it’s going to take a lot of time to build consensus around. It’s a political game and real people are getting hurt and we’re frustrated.”
One Democratic lawmaker broke with his party on Tuesday after several of his colleagues suggested Republicans could not be trusted to guarantee a vote on the subsidies.
“I believe John Thune is an honorable man, and I do not believe this is like a scam coming,” Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman told the DCNF. “Our government should be open, and then we can figure out all of those other things.”
Andi Shae Napier and Caden Olson contributed to this report.
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