This week, the United States is on the brink of marking its longest government shutdown in history, as a standoff over health care policy and spending grinds into yet another month. With negotiations between Republicans and Democrats stalled, millions of Americans are now facing the real prospect of losing vital benefits like food assistance and health care subsidies.
In a weekend interview broadcast on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” President Donald Trump pushed back against Democratic efforts to tie reopening the government to extending Affordable Care Act subsidy programs. He stated plainly that he “won’t be extorted” into talks unless the government is fully reopened first. His refusal to budge on this point reiterates the sentiments of many GOP lawmakers who are similarly steadfast.
While Trump and congressional Republicans insist the shutdown must end before any health care talks can begin, critical federal aid programs are already hanging by a thread. Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which supports 42 million Americans, has been repeatedly threatened. Federal workers, from airport staff to food safety inspectors, are now facing the brutal reality of missing yet another paycheck.
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Meanwhile, Senate Democrats have blocked 13 attempts to pass a bill reopening the government without first securing a commitment from Republicans to negotiate on replacing or extending ACA subsidies. Trump maintains this is a refusal that will only hurt them politically.
“I think they have to,” Trump said of Democrats. “And if they don’t vote, it’s their problem.”
The president also used the interview to once again call on Senate Republicans to scrap the filibuster rule. GOP leadership has long resisted this, arguing it protects minority party rights and has benefited Republicans in past congressional sessions. But Trump pressed harder this time:
“Republicans have to get tougher,” Trump told CBS. “If we end the filibuster, we can do exactly what we want.”
With the shutdown now in its 33rd day, and overtaking the previous record set during Trump’s 2019 border-wall fight, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other senior Republicans are trying to keep factions in line. Some moderates from both parties have floated compromise ideas, including assurances of future health care votes in return for backing a short-term spending bill. Yet those discussions have failed to produce a clear consensus.
“We need five with a backbone to say we care more about the lives of the American people than about gaining some political leverage,” Thune argued on the Senate floor before lawmakers left town for the weekend.
Democrats like Virginia Senator Tim Kaine disclosed on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that small bipartisan conversations have begun, but they admit movement is slow. Kaine described ongoing discussions about “a path to fix the health care debacle” that would include employment protections for federal workers.
But Trump hasn’t signaled any interest in those details. He reiterated in the interview that the Affordable Care Act is “terrible,” adding that if Democrats vote to reopen the government, “we will work on fixing the bad health care that we have right now.”
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Democrats strongly disagree, noting historic ACA enrollment figures and warning that allowing pandemic-era health care subsidies to expire on January 1 would spike premiums. Senate leader Chuck Schumer reiterated last week their position remains unchanged: they want Republicans, and especially Trump, to join them at the table.
“We want to sit down with Thune, with (House Speaker Mike) Johnson, with Trump, and negotiate a way to address this horrible health care crisis,” Schumer said.
Yet Trump has been more interested in rallying his base and trolling Democrats. He’s reposted memes mocking House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries wearing a sombrero and fully embraced satirical content on the White House website aimed at Democrats.
That hasn’t sat well with federal workers or governors watching the damage unfold at home. In New York and New Jersey, airports are reporting hours-long delays amid FAA staffing reports, raising alarms over safety and travel chaos.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that without a breakthrough, delays “are only going to get worse.” He also noted the grim decisions now facing government employees: “Do I put food on my kids’ table, do I put gas in the car, do I pay my rent or do I go to work and not get paid?”
Safety nets like SNAP have already been disrupted due to the standoff, though court intervention forced the Trump administration to release $8 billion in owed funds for now. Still, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries accused Trump and Republicans of deliberately stalling food aid.
“But somehow they can’t find money to make sure that Americans don’t go hungry,” Jeffries said on CNN.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, however, countered that Democrats hold the key to ending the crisis. “The best way for SNAP benefits to get paid is for Democrats — for five Democrats to cross the aisle and reopen the government,” he said during a CNN appearance, according to the AP.
With the shutdown closing in on week six and no sign of compromise in sight, some lawmakers on both sides worry that the political battle has buried the practical consequences facing millions of Americans. After all, the last prolonged shutdown under Trump, spanning 35 days, only ended when thousands of unpaid airport workers stopped showing up and air travel buckled under the pressure.
Whether history repeats itself may depend on who blinks first.
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