WASHINGTON — The United States is hours away from its first government shutdown in nearly seven years, as Democrats and Republicans remain locked in a bitter standoff over health care subsidies and spending. Without a deal, the government will close at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, forcing thousands of federal employees into furlough or layoffs.
The House has passed a stopgap bill to keep funding going for seven weeks, but Senate Democrats are refusing to support it unless it includes an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, which have helped millions of Americans afford health insurance since the pandemic. President Donald Trump and Republican leaders have dismissed those demands, insisting the bill is a “clean” measure that should be passed without debate.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries pressed Trump at a White House meeting Monday, warning of soaring health insurance costs if subsidies expire on December 31. But Trump showed little interest in negotiating. Hours after the meeting, he escalated tensions by posting a doctored video mocking Schumer and Jeffries, prompting Jeffries to respond, “Bigotry will get you nowhere. We are NOT backing down.”
With Republicans holding a slim Senate majority, at least eight Democratic votes are needed to overcome a filibuster. But one Republican, Sen. Rand Paul, is expected to oppose the funding bill, narrowing the path to passage even further. “I think we’re headed into a shutdown,” said Vice President JD Vance, blaming Democrats for blocking the bill.
The impasse has placed Democrats in an awkward position. For years they criticized shutdowns as reckless, yet many activists now urge the party to hold firm against Trump’s agenda. Schumer himself previously voted to keep the government open, but said conditions have changed since the GOP pushed through a sweeping tax cut that reduced Medicaid.
Federal agencies have already begun preparing for a shutdown, circulating contingency plans that outline which services would continue and which workers would be furloughed. Trump’s budget director, Russ Vought, accused Democrats of “hostage taking” and warned that the consequences would fall on the American people.
Meanwhile, Republicans argue Democrats are hijacking routine funding to force through unrelated policy goals, while Democrats counter that protecting health care subsidies is essential. As Michigan Sen. Gary Peters put it Monday, “A lot can happen in this place in a short period of time.”
With the clock ticking, both sides appear dug in — raising the likelihood that, come midnight, the government will grind to a halt.