US President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that he was ready to negotiate with Democrats over healthcare subsidies to break a deadlock over the continuing government shutdown, before walking back on that offer.
Trump put the blame for the shutdown — which is entering its seventh day — on Democrats in a post on social media, where he said they must end the shutdown before substantive negotiations can begin over healthcare policy – the key issue underlying the shutdown.
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“I am happy to work with the Democrats on their Failed Healthcare Policies, or anything else, but first they must allow our Government to re-open. In fact, they should open our Government tonight! ” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday evening.
Just hours earlier at the Oval Office, Trump told reporters he would like to “see a deal made for great healthcare,” according to CBS News.
“We have a negotiation going on right now with the Democrats that could lead to very good things, and I’m talking about good things with regard to healthcare,” Trump was quoted as saying.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, one of the Democratic Party’s highest-ranking members, quickly denied that Democrats were in talks with Trump.
“This isn’t true,” Schumer said in a statement shared on X.
“If Republicans are finally ready to sit down and get something done on healthcare for American families, Democrats will be there – ready to make it happen,” Schumer added.
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Trump’s remarks came as the Senate on Monday evening again failed to pass a Republican-sponsored bill to extend government spending until the end of November.
The vote of 52 in favour, 42 against, was eight votes short of the 60-vote threshold needed to pass the bill, according to Senate vote records.
Democrats hold a minority in both houses of Congress, and they are trying to use the spending bill to force Republicans to negotiate over critical healthcare spending.
Democrats want Congress to extend expiring subsidies before the US healthcare enrolment period begins in November and reverse cuts to Medicaid assistance for low-income and disabled US residents.
A Democratic version of the spending bill that extends funding through October 31 and makes the subsidies permanent also failed 45 to 55 on Monday in a vote along party lines.
The Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-partisan non-profit focused on healthcare policy, predicts that once the subsidies expire, healthcare premiums will “more than double what subsidised enrollees currently pay annually for premiums.”
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