As the third week of the government shutdown drags on, Democrats remain defiant, rejecting President Donald Trump’s attempts to intimidate them through mass federal worker firings and threats of more to come.
Returning to Washington after the recess, Senate Democrats once again blocked a Republican bill to reopen the government, marking the eighth rejection since the shutdown began.
“What people are saying is, you’ve got to stop the carnage,” said Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, recalling the frustration of his constituents, including furloughed federal workers. “And you don’t stop it by giving in.”
Other Democrats dismissed the layoffs as political theater. Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, according to AP’s report, described the firings as “a fair amount of bluster,” predicting that the actions would be overturned in court. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut accused Republicans of using the shutdown as “an excuse for them to do what they were planning to do anyway.”
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called the firings a “mistaken attempt” to pressure lawmakers, while House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries insisted the “intimidation tactics are not working and will continue to fail.”
At the center of the fight are health insurance subsidies set to expire at the end of the year. Democrats have made their renewal a top priority, arguing that millions of Americans would lose critical health support without them.
Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware said the human cost of lost health subsidies and earlier Republican cuts to Medicaid “far outweighs” any of the administration’s firing threats.
Republicans, however, are standing firm. They refuse to discuss health care legislation until Democrats agree to vote on reopening the government. The Senate scheduled another round of votes, but neither side showed signs of compromise.
“We’re barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history,” warned House Speaker Mike Johnson earlier this week.
The shutdown began just after midnight on October 1, with many expecting Democrats to cave quickly. Some moderate Democrats initially entered informal talks with Republicans, raising hopes for a deal. But weeks later, key moderates, including Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, Maggie Hassan, and Gary Peters, continue to oppose the GOP plan.
“Nothing about a government shutdown requires this or gives them new power to conduct mass layoffs,” Peters said after White House Budget Director Russell Vought announced that firings had begun.
READ ALSO: Trump administration warns federal workers may lose back pay as shutdown continues
Lawmakers from states with large numbers of federal employees, such as Virginia and Maryland, have been among the most outspoken. Kaine said the shutdown follows “nine months of punitive behavior” under the Trump administration, arguing that the president has “been at war with his own workforce.”
“Donald Trump is at war with his own workforce, and we don’t reward CEOs who hate their own workers,” Kaine said.
At a press conference with federal employees, Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland urged the president and his budget director to stop targeting civil servants and negotiate in good faith.
“The message we have today is very simple,” Van Hollen said. “Donald Trump and Russ Vought stop attacking federal employees, stop attacking the American people, and start negotiating to reopen the federal government and address the looming health care crisis that is upon us.”
Court filings from the White House Office of Management and Budget indicate that more than 4,000 federal employees from eight agencies have been terminated during the shutdown. Trump, for his part, defended the move, saying it allowed him to permanently close “Democrat programs that we disagree with.”
“We are closing up Democrat programs that we disagree with and they’re never going to open again,” Trump said.
But Democrats appear unmoved. They insist the real crisis is not political brinkmanship but the millions of Americans at risk of losing their health care coverage.
“I don’t feel any of this as pressure points,” Jeffries said. “The question becomes, at what point will Republicans embrace the reality that they have created a health care crisis that needs to be decisively addressed?”
Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, continue to argue that Democrats could end the stalemate immediately by voting to reopen the government.
According to Thune, the firings are “a situation that could be totally avoided” — but only if Democrats relent.
At the moment, the standoff continues, with both sides deeply entrenched and Americans caught in the middle of what could become one of the longest shutdowns in U.S. history.
READ ALSO: U.S.: Government shutdown deepens with jobs at risk and no deal in sight
