Washington braced for a fast-approaching government shutdown on Tuesday, as Republicans and Democrats appeared unlikely to reach an agreement that would extend funding past a midnight deadline.
The Republican-controlled Senate is expected to vote on a temporary spending bill that has failed once already, with no sign that a second vote will bring success.
Democrats want to modify the must-pass spending bill to extend health benefits for millions of Americans that are due to expire at the end of the year. Republicans say they must tackle that issue separately.
Federal agencies, meanwhile, issued detailed plans that would close offices conducting scientific research, customer service and other activities not deemed “essential”, and send thousands of workers home if Congress does not agree on a fix before funding expires at midnight (or 4am Irish time on Wednesday).
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Airlines warned that a shutdown could slow flights, while the Labour Department said it would not issue its monthly unemployment report – a closely watched barometer of economic health.
Democrats sought to drive a wedge between Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress, saying the president showed an interest in extending a tax break that lowers health costs for 24 million Americans at a White House meeting on Monday.
“It’s in the president’s hands whether we avoid a shutdown,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said after the meeting.
Vice-president JD Vance said Democrats had indeed proposed some “reasonable” ideas at the meeting, but said they should not threaten to shut down the government to achieve their aims.
Speaking to reporters on Monday afternoon, Mr Vance accused Democrats of holding the government “hostage”.
“You don’t put a gun to the American people’s head and say, unless you do exactly what Senate and House Democrats want you to do, we are going to shut down your government,” the vice-president said. “I think we are headed to a shutdown because the Democrats won’t do the right thing.”
Any last-minute agreement would have to be approved by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which is not due to convene until Wednesday, after funding expires.
Budget-related showdowns have become a routine feature in Washington as the nation’s politics have grown increasingly dysfunctional, though they are often resolved at the last minute.
The government last shut down for 35 days in 2018 and 2019, during Trump’s first term, due to a dispute over immigration.
At issue is $1.7 trillion that funds agency operations, which amounts to roughly one-quarter of the government’s total $7 trillion budget. Much of the remainder goes to health and retirement programmes and interest payments on the growing $37.5 trillion debt.
Mr Trump’s willingness to ignore spending laws passed by Congress has injected more uncertainty this time around, and he has threatened to extend his purge of the federal workforce if Congress allows the government to shut down. In the spring, he ordered federal agencies to consider firing “non-essential” employees who normally would be ordered not to work during a shutdown.
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“If Congress doesn’t do their job, then you allow the executive branch to do it the way that they see fit. It’s a really good reason why we should not have a shutdown,” Republican senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota said.
Mr Trump has also refused to spend billions of dollars approved by Congress, prompting some Democrats to question why they should vote for any spending legislation at all. Though Republicans control both chambers of Congress, they need at least seven Democratic votes to pass legislation out of the Senate.
Along with the extended health subsidies, Democrats have also sought to ensure that Mr Trump will not be able to undo those changes if they are signed into law. Democrats have also sought to reinstate Mr Trump’s cuts to public broadcasting and other programmes, though they appeared to drop those demands on Monday.
Locked out of power in Washington, Democrats are under pressure from their frustrated supporters to score a rare victory in advance of the 2026 midterm elections that will determine control of Congress for the final two years of Mr Trump’s term. The healthcare push has given them a chance to unite behind an issue that resonates with voters.
Still, some have questioned whether it is worth risking a shutdown.
“It’s not about politics or who gets blamed for it. It’s about the damage to millions of Americans,” Democratic senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania told reporters. – Reuters
