President Trump on Thursday made it clear he’s prepared to blame a possible government shutdown on Democrats, who he said are making too many demands for a bill to fund the government through fiscal year 2017.
“The Democrats want to shut government if we don’t bail out Puerto Rico and give billions to their insurance companies for OCare failure,” Trump tweeted. “NO!”
The Democrats want to shut government if we don’t bail out Puerto Rico and give billions to their insurance companies for OCare failure. NO!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2017
Congress must pass a spending bill by Friday to avoid a partial government shutdown, and lawmakers are expected to first pass a week-long stopgap measure. That will give lawmakers more time to prepare a final bill lasting through the end of September.
But along the way, Democrats have been demanding that language that would require the government to keep making payments to Obamacare insurers to help them reduce costs for low-income enrollees.
The White House has been saying it will keep making those payments, after Trump had suggested he might withhold those funds.
