Live updates: Congressional stalemate causes government shutdown

2 days ago

House Democrats’ 24-hour shutdown livestream draws dismal viewership

From Brady Knox

A 24-hour livestream hosted by House Democrats about the government shutdown drew dismal viewership.

The Democrats started the livestream at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, hoping to use it in the shutdown messaging war with Republicans. The effort isn’t living up to expectations, however, with viewership usually in the double digits.

Between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., viewership hovered between 60 and 65 viewers. Around the most anticipated time, as the shutdown deadline approached, journalist Ken Klippenstein noted just 156 viewers at around 10:30 p.m.

3 hours ago

Klobuchar takes aim at Trump’s sombrero memes: ‘This isn’t funny’

From David Zimmermann

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) criticized President Trump’s use of sombrero memes to mock Democrats amid the ongoing government shutdown.

Concerned about rising health insurance premiums as Affordable Care Act subsidies lapse, Klobuchar said Trump is more focused on making jokes than committing to reopening the federal government.

“He posts a deepfake video with sombreros in it, and he thinks that’s funny. This isn’t funny to the American people who are starting to get their premium bills right now,” she said.

“He thinks people are going to joke about this. I promise you they’re not. They are seeing their premiums double right now,” the senator added.

Trump has been posting memes showing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader (D-NY) wearing Mexican sombreros to pressure them to end the shutdown. Klobuchar called the videos “offensive.”

4 hours ago

House won’t return next week as shutdown drags on

From David Zimmermann

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has announced that the House won’t return next week as the government shutdown continues without a funding resolution between Republicans and Democrats.

On the House floor, Johnson declared next week a district work period.

The announcement doesn’t affect the Senate, which is still trying to pass the government funding legislation. Both parties have repeatedly brought up their respective continuing resolutions for votes, to little avail.

4 hours ago

Senate leaves for the weekend with no shutdown deal in sight

From David Sivak

A fight over government funding will spill into next week after senators left Washington dug in over how to resolve Democratic demands over healthcare.

For the fourth time, the Senate rejected dueling proposals to reopen the government – a “clean,” seven-week extension introduced by Republicans and another from Democrats that preserves Obamacare subsidies that expire at the end of the year.

The GOP proposal, which passed the House last month, garnered some cross-party support, with two Democrats and one independent voting with Republicans. But the outcome, a 54-44 vote, was in line with two prior attempts at Senate passage, signaling Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) coalition is holding firm on the third day of the government shutdown.

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4 hours ago

Democrats’ continuing resolution fails

From David Zimmermann

Senate Democrats again failed to pass their own continuing resolution that would partially fund the federal government through the end of October.

The measure failed in a 46-52 vote. Senate Republicans are now moving on to voting for their own continuing resolution.

Republicans have repeatedly touted their measure as “clean,” while categorizing the Democrat-led measure as “dirty” and filled with unreasonable partisan priorities.

After taking effect on Wednesday, the government shutdown is in its third day.

5 hours ago

‘Everyone’ will feel healthcare pain because of Republicans, says Jeffries

From Brady Knox

Jeffries said that “everyone” will be negatively impacted by Republican policies.

“Just to be clear, everyone is about to experience dramatically increased premiums, co-pays, and deductibles because of the Republican healthcare crisis,” he said, a label he applied numerous times throughout the press conference.

“Everyone in America, and as that happens, they’ll know that this is a result of Donald Trump and failed Republican policies, who have launched the largest assault on health care in American history. It’s a Republican assault on the health care of rural America, urban America, small town America, the heartland of America, and black and brown communities all across America,” Jeffries added.

“It’s an unprecedented Republican assault on health care and a massive crisis that impacts everyone, which is why we’ve been very clear we’re fighting for everyone, and the reality is the dramatic increases in health care premiums that the American people are about to experience,” he continued.

Democrats have framed the government shutdown as being pushed by Republicans to strip Americans of healthcare, while Republicans claim Democrats are trying to give healthcare to illegal immigrants.

5 hours ago

Jeffries defends ‘tremendous public servant’ Hoyer after Khanna criticism

From Brady Knox

Jeffries defended Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) after he was criticized by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) for taking money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group.

When asked about the criticism at a press conference, Jeffries said he hadn’t seen it, so he would have to investigate further. But Jeffries added that he had full confidence in Hoyer.

“What I will say is that Steny Hoyer has been a tremendous public servant throughout the duration of his career, and there’s a reason why his constituents continue to elect him,” he said.

“It’s my expectation that that will continue,” Jeffries added.

5 hours ago

Jeffries says Republicans shut down government to ‘subsidize the lifestyles of the rich and shameless’

From Brady Knox

Jeffries claimed that Republicans shut down the government to give more money to their rich patrons and billionaires.

“Republicans spent all year focused on their one big, ugly bill so they can permanently extend massive tax breaks for the wealthy, the well off and the well connected, for their billionaire donors, in order to subsidize the lifestyles of the rich and shameless,” he said.

Jeffries argued that Republicans had spent months “obsessing” over “rewarding their billionaire donors with massive tax breaks.”

“Republicans just want to gut healthcare for the American people, and Democrats will continue to stand on the side of the American people, fight for their healthcare, and improve their quality of life,” he added.

Democrats have portrayed the government shutdown as the doing of Republicans, who were trying to strip Americans of their healthcare.

5 hours ago

Jeffries says ‘Trump has been missing in action’

From Brady Knox

Jeffries said that Trump has been “missing in action” throughout the government shutdown, along with congressional Republicans.

“Throughout this week, Donald Trump has been missing in action. He remains in the presidential witness protection program,” he joked.

By his telling, Trump wasn’t the only one MIA.

“House Republicans are on vacation all across the country and the world,” Jeffries said. Democrats have repeatedly claimed that Republicans have gone away from Washington, D.C., as a way of pinning the government shutdown on them. Congressional Democrats have gone to significant lengths to show they’re still in the city.

6 hours ago

Leavitt says Trump will end ‘the radical Left’s reign of terror in Portland once and for all’

From Annabella Rosciglione

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump would save “war-ravaged Portland.”

“Trump will end ‘the radical Left’s reign of terror in Portland once and for all,” she said, claiming Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities were “under attack by antifa.”

Trump has used daily protests outside the city’s ICE facility, which have been largely peaceful, to justify sending troops into the Democratic-led city. Still, Leavitt claimed the protests were “left-wing anarchy.”

7 hours ago

MTG pitches ‘nuclear option’ to end gridlock over government shutdown

From Emily Hallas

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) urged Republicans on Friday to use a rarely used legislative tactic to end the stalemate over the government shutdown.

The “nuclear option” is a procedural shortcut that would lower the threshold for passing the Republican measure to keep the government open to a simple majority vote, instead of the usual supermajority, which requires Democratic input. The partisan tactic is used with reluctance, as many lawmakers view it as a last-ditch power grab that undermines the deliberative consensus supposed to define Congress.

Greene dismissed concerns this week, saying, “As far as worrying that using the nuclear option would damage partisan relations, let’s be real, that ship has sailed a long time ago. There are no partisan relations. Instead, Republicans need to learn how to wield power when they have it and govern.”

7 hours ago

Democrats have to open up government to have ‘conversations’ on healthcare: Thune

From Emily Hallas

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told reporters at a press conference alongside Johnson that he is open to negotiations on healthcare, but that conversations on Obamacare subsidies are only possible after Democrats stop blocking a measure to open the government.

“We can’t make commitments or promises on the [Obamacare] COVID subsidies, because that’s not something that we can guarantee, that there are the votes there to do. But what I’ve said is I’m open to having conversations with our Democrat colleagues on that issue, but that can’t happen while the government is shut down,” he said.

Responding to Democrats’ request to put concessions on Obamacare “in writing,” Johnson replied: “Here’s the problem, some of the issues that they’re bringing to the table, and they’re demanding immediate, easy answers for are not easy answers, and they take a long time to deliberate. … We can’t snap our fingers, and he and I and two other leaders in a room go, ‘Oh, well, ‘this is the resolution.’ That’s not how it works.”

Johnson concluded the conference by calling on Democrats to stop their “political antics” so lawmakers can hash out negotiations on healthcare.

“This is one of many issues that have to be deliberated and discussed through our process. What we’re asking the Democrats to do … please open the government so we can do that work, so that all the members of both chambers can be here to do the work, to legislate and to deliberate. They’ve stopped our ability to do that with these political antics, and we hope it ends,” he said.

8 hours ago

House Republicans have ‘nothing to negotiate’ on government shutdown: Johnson

From Emily Hallas

The House speaker argued Republican leaders have “nothing to negotiate” in a bid to keep the government open because the deal they put forward didn’t contain any GOP priorities.

“The Democrats want to play political games and try to obscure the real facts,” Johnson said of the shutdown, which was triggered on Wednesday when the opposition voted down a “clean” continuing resolution.

“I could have put Republican conservative priorities on the CR and Senate over there, but I didn’t. And so when you all ask me, ‘Why aren’t you negotiating with them?’ I don’t have anything to negotiate,” the House speaker said. “I can’t take off Republican priorities that we put in the CR and say, ‘Hey, that better? Could you vote for that?’ Because we didn’t put them on there in the first place. Why? Because Republicans are being responsible. We’re operating in good faith, and we’re trying to get the Democrats to do their job, and they won’t. Those are the simple facts, and they cannot be obscured.”

8 hours ago

Johnson says Democrats stalling ‘coming’ reforms on Obamacare by blocking continuing resolution 

From Emily Hallas

Johnson suggested during a press conference on Wednesday that Democrats are stalling progress on healthcare reforms because they blocked a Republican measure to keep the government open.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has “got to show that he’s fighting Republicans, and because they’re playing political games and they’re not doing what he himself said passionately as recently as six months ago, that must be done, that you passed a standard bipartisan CR because he needs political cover.”

Democrats wanted to attach a provision to the government funding continuing resolution that would have extended Obama-era government subsidies. They voted down the measure because Republicans wanted a “clean” continuing resolution that kept the government open at current funding levels, with no new funding measures attached.

Johnson denounced Democrats over the matter.

“We have more reforms coming to try to fix Obamacare, which is not working for the people, but you need common sense, responsible Republicans who are serious about policy to fix that for the people, and that’s what we’re working to do,” he said. “The Democrats are stalling that because they need a political talking point. And why? Because Chuck Schumer, who leads the Democrats, is terrified that he’s not going to win back his Senate seat.”

8 hours ago

White House pressures Democrats over shutdown delays to key economic data

From Christian Datoc, Zach Halaschak

The White House is blaming Democrats as it highlights how the government shutdown will delay the release of “critical” economic data, which senior officials argue will hamper the private sector’s “decision-making” to end the year.

Staff at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, furloughed amid the shutdown fight on Capitol Hill, did not publish the September jobs report as scheduled on Friday at 8:30 a.m., marking one of the biggest economic repercussions of the shutdown as analysts remain laser-focused on any data that could provide further insight into a softening labor market.

“Obviously, New York is no stranger to risks of terrorist attacks and it’s not just 9/11 that tells us that,” the judge said, noting the 1993 World Trade Center bombing as well.