Senator Schumer emphasized the urgency of the situation, warning, “Now, it’s on their backs. If you think people don’t like it now, there’s going to be a crescendo as through the beginning of October. The vast majority of Americans get those bills [then] and they’re going to say, ‘What the heck are we going to do?’” He noted that around 24 million Americans could see their premiums more than double if the credits are allowed to expire.
Republican leaders, meanwhile, focused on building support for their seven-week funding measure. The Tuesday vote saw an increase in Democratic support, with Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Angus King (I-Maine) joining Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) in supporting the “clean” bill. Cortez Masto cited “an economic slowdown and a looming health care crisis” in her statement explaining her vote, saying, “This administration doesn’t care about Nevadans, but I do. That’s why I cannot support a costly shutdown that would hurt Nevada families and hand even more power to this reckless administration. We need a bipartisan solution to address this impending health care crisis, but we should not be swapping the pain of one group of Americans for another.”
Thune indicated that talks with Democratic senators were ongoing and said Republicans would continue holding daily votes on the measure. “There are conversations going on on a regular basis. … We have a number of our colleagues who are interested in getting out of this pickle that their leader has put them in,” he told reporters. He added that there was a growing recognition that the Democratic leadership’s approach was not working. “We’re going to have some more votes and we’ll see where the Democrats come down.”
The Democratic-backed proposal, which included a permanent extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies and reversed Medicaid cuts, also failed to pass. The Senate is scheduled to reconvene on Wednesday for additional votes, although no agreement is expected before the chamber pauses for Yom Kippur on Thursday. Lawmakers plan to resume work on Friday and throughout the weekend.
With the shutdown in place, attention has now shifted to the next challenge: determining how to reopen the government. The complexity of the negotiations has left many members uncertain about the path forward. Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) summed up the mood, saying, “It’s a lot of work. I don’t even know what the path is right now.”
Conclusion
The federal government shutdown highlights deep partisan divisions over health care subsidies and spending priorities. Both parties remain locked in a stalemate, with Democrats pushing to preserve Affordable Care Act credits and Republicans resisting their inclusion in temporary funding. With agencies implementing shutdown plans and millions of Americans potentially facing higher health costs, the question of when and how Congress will find a solution remains unresolved.
