WASHINGTON — The U.S. government shutdown entered its sixth day Monday with no end in sight after the Senate yet again rejected competing bills proposed by Republicans and Democrats to reopen the government.
The vote on the Democratic bill was 45-50, while the final tally on the GOP measure was 52-42, with neither reaching the 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster and advance for final passage.
One hour before the vote, President Donald Trump left senators flummoxed after he claimed that there were negotiations taking place on health care. The central Democratic demand in the standoff is to extend expiring Obamacare funds.
"We have a negotiation going on right now with the Democrats that could lead to very good things. And I'm talking about good things with regard to health care," Trump told reporters.
Asked specifically whether he's speaking to Democratic leaders, Trump replied: "I don't want to say that. But we are speaking with the Democrats. But some very good things could happen with respect to health care."
But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., quickly shot down Trump's claim that negotiations are happening.
“Trump’s claim isn’t true — but if he’s finally ready to work with Democrats, we’ll be at the table,” Schumer said in a statement. “For months, Democrats have been calling on Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans to come to the table and work with us to deliver lower costs and better health care for the American people.”
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Republicans similarly said they're unaware of any bipartisan negotiations taking place on health care.
"I'm not aware of any," Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the chair of the Finance Committee, which oversees health care, told NBC News. "I think Sen. Thune made it very clear: We'll talk about it if we get out of the government shutdown."
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said that it's "good" if Trump is open to extending Obamacare money, but no such talks were happening yet.
"But that's still not going to happen until we actually get this government open," Rounds said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has not committed to extending the Obamacare money, saying it’s a discussion he’s open to having — but only if Democrats relent and reopen the government.
“Release the hostage. We’ll have that conversation,” Thune said on Fox News. “That is a program, by the way, that is desperately in need of reform. You cannot just extend it, flat extend it. It is too flawed.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said the president’s comments show that “Donald Trump is feeling the heat.”
“People across this country do not want to see their insurance premiums double or even triple,” she said.
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said he was "delighted" to hear Trump's comments, "and I hope that can lead to some fruitful discussion." And Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the lead author of the bill to extend Obamacare funding, said she hasn't spoken to the president.
Again, King was one of just three Democratic caucus members who voted for the GOP bill, along with Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.
Trump is declining to take a clear position on whether to extend Obamacare subsidies, the main Democratic demand and a central sticking point in the standoff. The subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year, which would result in major health insurance premium increases for people on the Affordable Care Act.
“We want to fix it so it works,” Trump said Sunday when NBC News asked him whether he's open to extending the funding. “It’s not working. Obamacare has been a disaster for the people, so we want to have it fixed so it works.”
House members were supposed to return to Washington this week, but Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., canceled votes for the entire week, saying the chamber had already done its job and passed a funding bill back on Sept. 19.
Some members of both parties, however, say that’s an attempt by Johnson to avoid a vote to require the Justice Department to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. A bipartisan House duo is expected to have the signatures they need to force a vote on the Epstein issue when the House returns to Washington and Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., is sworn in.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said on X: “Why are we in recess? Because the day we go back into session, I have 218 votes for the discharge petition to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files. @SpeakerJohnson doesn’t want that to be the news.”
Johnson denied that’s the reason.
“This has nothing to do with that,” he said Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” “It’s another red herring. The reason the government is closed is because Chuck Schumer and 43 of his Democratic colleagues in the Senate have decided now to vote multiple times to keep the government closed.”
In the battle of public opinion, the White House and the GOP are taking more of the blame for the shutdown than Democrats. A new CBS News poll shows that trend continuing, with 39% saying they mostly blame Trump and Republicans, while 30% blame Democrats in Congress and 31% blame both equally.
Asked Monday on NBC’s “TODAY” show to react to Trump’s comments on ACA funding over the weekend, Jeffries was unimpressed.
“He also mentioned that in the White House meeting that we had last Monday,” Jeffries said. “Unfortunately, the White House and Republican leaders have gone radio silent ever since then.”
