WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said President Donald Trump and the Republican Party are 鈥渕arching the country鈥 into a government shutdown over their refusal to meet with Democrats and strike a deal to save health care funding from cuts.
Jeffries told the Associated Press in an interview late Friday that he remained hopeful Congress could reach an agreement to prevent a federal funding lapse next week, .
But with Republicans having canceled next week鈥檚 and Trump canceling his meeting with the Democratic leaders this week, he said, 鈥渢he onus is on Donald Trump to show some presidential leadership.鈥
鈥淒onald Trump and Republicans are chaos agents,鈥 Jeffries said. 鈥淎t moments in time that require stable, presidential leadership, Donald Trump is incapable of providing it.鈥
This shutdown, not the nation’s first, could be more difficult. Trump鈥檚 budget office this week ordered federal agencies to prepare a , rather than the typical temporary employee furlough, if the federal government were to close.
The Republican leaders, and , say a shutdown can if Democrats drop their demands. Before leaving town, House Republicans approved legislation that would keep the government funded into November, as Congress works to finish up its regular appropriations work. But that measure , as did a Democrat alternative that included the health care funds.
鈥淚t鈥檚 my hope that we can find resolution over the next few days and avoid a government shutdown,鈥 Jeffries said.
The Democratic leader, who is in line to become the if Democrats regain the majority in next year’s midterm elections, has become the party’s chief messenger in the high-stakes funding fight. The Democrats are confronting demanding that they stand up to the Trump administration and quit funding the White House’s agenda.
Trump may not say Jeffries鈥 name out loud 鈥 the Democratic leader said he was informed recently that in the past decade, since Trump entered politics, the Republican president has not mentioned the Democrat from Brooklyn 鈥 but Jeffries this week repeatedly name-checked him.
鈥淒onald Trump, Get back to Washington, DC.,鈥 Jeffries said earlier at the U.S. Capitol, as the president attended the . 鈥淲hy are you at a golf event right now? And the government is four days away from closing. That鈥檚 outrageous.鈥
After Trump abruptly canceled the planned meeting with him and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Jeffries said at the Capitol, 鈥淲hy did you back out of the meeting, bro?鈥
Jeffries told his colleagues on a private conference call on Friday with House Democrats to 鈥渟tay the course.鈥
Democrats are fighting to shore up health care funding, and in particular to prevent the expiration of enhanced subsidies, put in place during the COVID-19 crisis, that helped Americans pay for insurance through the Affordable Care Act exchanges. Without action, the boosted subsidy will lapse, risking premium spikes for millions of Americans nationwide.
Republicans have said Democratic in the GOP’s big tax cuts and spending bill that Trump signed into law this summer are a nonstarter. And the GOP leaders have said talks on the ACA subsidies can wait until the end of the year, when they are set to expire.
鈥淗ouse Democrats are united,鈥 Jeffries said. 鈥淒onald Trump and the Republican Party are marching the country into a painful government shutdown because they do not want to address the health care crisis that they created.鈥
The Republican congressional leaders believe Democrats are heading toward a political cliff.
鈥淭hey’re walking in a trap they all set for themselves,鈥 Johnson, of Louisiana, said during an interview on the Moon Griffon radio show in his home state.
Johnson acknowledged he encouraged Trump not to meet with the Democratic leaders this week after the White House had already agreed to Thursday’s scheduled meeting. Trump abruptly pulled out.
鈥淗e and I talked about it at length yesterday and the day before. I said, look, when they get their job done, once they do the basic governing work of keeping the government open, as president, then you can have a meeting with him,鈥 Johnson said on the Mike & McCarty Show. 鈥淥f course, it might be productive at that point, but right now, this is just a waste of his time.鈥
Trump has been here before. During his first term, the country endured the longest shutdown, some 35 days over the 2018-19 winter holiday season, as lawmakers refused his demand for funding to build a promised U.S.-Mexico border wall.
Before that, the government shut down for more than two weeks in 2013, during the Obama administration, over failed Republican efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
Jeffries expects this shutdown, if it happens, would end as those past ones did, he said.
鈥淎t the end of both of those shutdowns, Republicans came to the conclusion that their position was unsustainable,鈥 he said. 鈥淎nd in my view, that鈥檚 exactly what will take place this time around, if Republicans shut the government down because they want to continue to gut the health care of everyday Americans.鈥
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