President Donald Trump has largely stayed out of the government shutdown brawl on Capitol Hill, which will soon reach its three-week mark.
But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle see Trump as pivotal to ending the impasse centered on Democratic healthcare demands, even as GOP leaders so far want him to steer clear of negotiations.
Democrats view the president as the ultimate seal of approval for Republicans on any eventual path forward, and consider the self-described master deal-maker more open to negotiations and less ideologically rigid than GOP leaders, who refuse to engage with Democrats until they help reopen the government.
“I don’t think Trump would ask [for] sign-off from anybody,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) told the Washington Examiner. “I think he’d make a deal, as is perfectly his right to do so.”
In Democrats’ estimation, top Republicans view it to their advantage that Trump has refrained from inserting himself and undermining the party’s perceived leverage. Already, the president has blunted the GOP’s negotiating position by diverting money to pay active service members and using tariff revenue to fund a welfare program for new mothers and their babies.
“That is the one ingredient that’s missing,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) told the Washington Examiner. “[GOP leaders] are completely in his pocket. They’re going to agree to what he wants, and they’re not going to push back [on] what he wants. But they’re not going to make a deal without knowing what he wants.”
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, a senior White House official sought to shut down the “wish casting” scenario, “where the president comes in and rolls over his congressional leadership and the views of the entire Republican Conference.”
“That’s a scenario that is pure fantasy,” the official added.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed Republicans in Congress, such as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), saying on Friday that Trump was “very much committed to fixing the healthcare system, but first we need to reopen the government and get our people paid.”
Still, there’s an appetite among some rank-and-file Republicans for Trump to come off the sidelines and be more involved, as he’s done in past fights both this year and in his first term, when his border wall demands precipitated a 35-day shutdown, the longest on record.
“At the end of the day, in this situation, to really get this thing off the bubble, I think it’s going to take our president to be involved,” Sen. Jim Justice (R-WV) said.
Congress lacks a sense of “urgency,” according to Hawley, with both sides convinced that their position will ultimately prevail in the court of public opinion. In a disregard for shutdown optics, both parties have forged ahead with island fundraisers, rooftop soirees, and even a birthday bash for Justice’s famous dog sidekick despite congressional staffers and some 2 million federal workers missing paychecks.
Democrats are betting that the start of next month will strengthen their hand in the fight over healthcare, as Obamacare enrollment opens and millions of beneficiaries face sharp increases in their monthly premiums.
Obamacare is at the center of their shutdown demands, with Democratic leadership pressing for a permanent extension of enhanced subsidies, a concession that Republicans have broadly resisted.
“That’s playing games with people’s lives,” said Hawley, who supports extending the subsidies that expire at year’s end but with reduced eligibility. “’Let’s wait for two weeks, and our position will get better.’ What does that even mean?”
Meanwhile, Trump and administration officials have tried to needle Democrats and inflict maximum shutdown pain by slashing programs and departments supported mostly by Democrats, arguing the shutdown gives them new authority to do so.
“While they may claim healthcare is the driver of what they’re doing, we all know that the primary reason that we’re in this mess is because Democrats’ far-left base demanded a showdown with President Trump,” Thune said in recent floor remarks.
Nevertheless, Democrats continue to make their appeal to Trump, in some cases attempting to touch a nerve by questioning his status as a negotiator.
“With Republicans in control of the White House and Congress, why can’t they make a deal?” Democratic National Committee Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer said in a statement. “We’re saying what everybody is thinking: The dealmaker-in-chief has lost his touch.”
Christian Datoc contributed to this report.
