Democrats dodge on whether Obamacare fight justifies shutdown
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As the shutdown entered its second month, Democrats dodged questions about whether their tough stance on extending Obamacare subsidies was worth keeping federal workers without pay and risking benefits through a government shutdown.
Asked by Fox News Digital whether it’s worth continuing the fight over Obamacare at a time when federal workers aren’t facing weeks of pay and benefits delays, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said: “We should ask a Republican because Republicans have agreed to do exactly zero negotiations.”
“Donald Trump is flying around the world, Senate Republicans won’t do anything without Donald Trump telling them to, and House Republicans are currently in their sixth week of paid recess,” Warren continued. “So, you know, we would love to sit down and negotiate, but we don’t have any Republicans on the other side.”
President Donald Trump embarked on a diplomatic trip to Asia this week, visiting leaders from many different countries, both friends and foes of the United States, including South Korea, Japan and China.
GOVERNMENT DEEPS DEEP INTO LOCKDOWN CRISIS WITHOUT ANY DEAL
Senator Elizabeth Warren speaks during the fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center on August 22, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
House Republicans, meanwhile, are pushing back against House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. was in recess, and the body will remain that way until the Senate passes the House-passed budget continuation resolution to reopen the government.
Asked the same question, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., also put the blame on Trump, saying: “He needs to agree to abide by the deal we came up with; so far we haven’t been able to persuade him to do so.”
“The most important thing for me in opening the government is to assure the president that if we open the government, he will not break the agreement,” Kaine added. “We have to come up with a budget deal for 30 or 45 days, whatever is done, but he has to agree that if you do that, the next day he won’t start firing more people, canceling projects.”
Kaine credited Trump for finding funds to pay U.S. troops “when the House refused to come back to pick up the military pay bill,” saying, “I think that’s important.”
Still, “No one should go hungry, no one should go without a paycheck. President Trump has a multibillion-dollar emergency fund that Congress has currently created for personnel, and he brutally refuses to use it, and it’s all because of him.”
THUNE AND GOP REFUSE TO OBJECT TO ‘GUN SHOT’ GOVERNMENT FUNDING OFFERS DURING SHUTDOWN
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington, with, from left, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Meanwhile, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., called Trump’s conduct “as incredibly immoral as any behavior we have ever seen by any president.”
“There is $5.5 billion in November funding,” he said, “The president has the authority to distribute those funds… But the president has decided to attack the welfare of America’s children as a bargaining chip.”
Facing the question, Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., said: “Republicans are giving us two choices: either they take away health care from millions of people, or they take away food from millions of people and don’t pay the troops. I don’t think that’s the choice we face.”
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., fired back, “You’re talking to the wrong Democratic senator because I voted to keep the resolution 13 times.”
Senate DEMOCRATS DEFY WHITE HOUSE WARNINGS, ONCE AGAIN BLOCKING GOP BID TO REOPEN GOVERNMENT
The Capitol Building is seen from the National Mall in Washington, DC, on Friday, August 9, 2024. (Aaron Schwartz/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
Asked why more Democratic senators haven’t followed suit, Cortez-Masto said, “You should talk to my colleagues.”
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) also framed the issue as one about affordability, saying, “Republicans in the House haven’t been to work in six weeks. This shows how callous and uncaring they really are. They need to reopen this government immediately.”
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“We must also make sure we don’t inflict more pain. We’ve inflicted so much pain on hard-working, working-class Americans who not only can’t afford insurance and healthcare, but can no longer afford groceries,” he said. “This administration is causing our economy to collapse and our families to suffer every day.”
“I have voted on eight different occasions to reopen the government, and you know, Republicans need to come to the table and negotiate something that allows us to both reopen this government and make sure that Americans can afford their health care,” Alsobrooks noted.
