Republicans take a victory lap as House gathers to end shutdown
WASHINGTON— President Trump and Republican lawmakers took a victory lap Tuesday after gaining bipartisan support to reopen the government, ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history without compromising any core Democratic demands.
House members were meeting in Washington for a final vote expected as early as Wednesday after 60 senators, including seven Democrats and one independent, advanced the bill Monday night. Most Democratic lawmakers in the House are expected to oppose the follow-up resolution, which does not include an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, a central demand during shutdown negotiations.
The result, according to independent analysts, is that premiums will more than double on average for the more than 20 million Americans who use the healthcare marketplace, with out-of-pocket payments rising from an average of $888 to $1,904 annually, according to KFF.
Democrats who voted to reopen the government in the Senate said they received a promise from South Dakota Republican Majority Leader John Thune that they would vote on extending tax credits next month.
But the vote is likely to cross party lines. And even if it won some Republican support, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, made no promises that the measure would get a vote in the lower chamber.
The end of the shutdown comes at a crucial time for the U.S. aviation industry ahead of one of the busiest travel seasons around the Thanksgiving holiday. The prolonged federal government shutdown led federal employees in the industry to call in sick in large numbers, prompting an unprecedented directive from the Federal Aviation Administration that slowed operations at the nation’s largest airports.
Lawmakers are racing to vote before federal employees working in aviation security miss another paycheck this week; This potentially increases frustration within their own ranks and causes further delays at airports heading into the upcoming holiday week.
This will be the first time the Parliament has conducted legislative work in more than 50 days; It will be a marathon race that has increased lawmakers’ workload on issues ranging from appropriations and stock trading regulations to a habeas corpus petition calling for the release of files in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
“We look forward to the government reopening this week so that Congress can return to our regular legislative session,” Johnson told reporters on Monday. “There will be long days and long nights here for the foreseeable future to make up for all this lost time that has been forced upon us.”
To reopen the government, the spending package must pass the House, where Republicans have a slim majority and Democrats have vowed to vote against a deal that does not cover health care costs.
Still, Trump and Republican leaders believe they have enough votes to pass the legislation and reopen the government within the week.
Trump called the spending package a “very good” deal and said he would sign it once it reaches his desk.
One Veterans Day event on TuesdayTrump thanked Thune and Johnson for their work to reopen the government. Johnson was in the crowd listening to Trump’s words.
“Congratulations to you and John and everyone else on a huge victory,” Trump said in his speech at Arlington National Cemetery. “We are reopening our country. It should never have been closed down.”
While Trump praised the measure as a done deal, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the chamber’s top Democrat, said his party would still try to delay or defeat the legislation with the tools it had left.
“House Democrats will vigorously oppose any legislation that does not decisively address the Republican health crisis,” Jeffries said in an interview with CNN on Tuesday morning.
Just like in the Senate, California Democrats in the House of Representatives are expected to vote against the shutdown agreement because it does not address expiring health benefits.
Representative Nancy Pelosi said the shutdown agreement reached in the Senate “does not meet the needs of America’s working families” and said she sided with House Democratic leaders in opposing the legislation.
“We must continue to fight for a responsible, bipartisan path to reopening government.” And “It keeps health care affordable for the American people,” Pelosi said. he said in a social media post.
Meanwhile, California Republicans in the House of Representatives criticized Democrats for trying to block passage of the funding agreement.
“These extremists only care about their radical base, regardless of the impact on America,” said Rep. Ken Calvert of Corona. in a social media post.
Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) publicly called on Johnson to negotiate with Democrats on health care during the shutdown. He said in an interview last month that he thinks there’s “a lot of room” to address concerns on both sides of the aisle about how to cover rising health care costs.
Kiley said Monday that he has filed a bill with Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-San José) proposing to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits for another two years.
He said the bill would “stop the massive increase in health care costs for the 22 million Americans whose premium tax credits are about to expire.”
“The important thing is that the extension is temporary and paid for in full, so it cannot increase the deficit,” Kiley said, referring to concern frequently expressed by Republicans that extending the loans would add to the national debt.
