Washington– WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump shows little urgency to broker a settlement that would end the conflict Government shutdownEven as Democrats insist that no progress can be achieved without his direct involvement.
Three weeks later, Congress is in session impasse. The House of Representatives has not met in a month, and senators left Washington on Thursday frustrated by the lack of progress. Republican leaders refuse to negotiate until a short-term funding bill to reopen the government is passed, while Democrats say they will not agree without guarantees on extending health insurance support.
For now, Trump seems content to remain on the sidelines.
Spent the week Celebration The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which he led, hosted A Memory event By conservative activist Charlie Kirk and Refocus attention Concerning the Russian-Ukrainian war. Meanwhile, his administration has been managing the lockdown in unconventional ways, and continues to do so Pay troops while Demobilization Other federal employees.
When asked Thursday if he would be willing to publicize his deal-making background on the shutdown, Trump seemed uninterested.
“Well, look, all we want to do is just extend,” he said in an exchange with reporters in the Oval Office. “We don’t want anything, we just want to extend, and live with the agreement they made.” Later Thursday, he blasted Democrats’ health care demands as “crazy,” adding, “We’re not going to do that.”
Spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt told Fox News that Democrats should first vote to reopen the government, “and then we can have serious conversations about health care.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune echoed that approach before leaving for the weekend, saying Trump was “ready to engage and sit down with Democrats or whoever, once the government opens up.”
However, frustration is beginning to surface even within Trump’s own party, where lawmakers acknowledge that not much happens in Congress without his guidance.
“We’re not making much progress this week,” GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski said as she left the Capitol on Thursday. For things to move forward, Murkowski acknowledged that Trump may need to get more involved: “I think he’s an important part of it.”
“I think there are some people in his administration who like the fact that Congress has no role right now,” she added. “I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.”
While Congress was paralyzed by the shutdown, Trump was paralyzed I moved quickly To activate his vision for the federal government.
Budget chief Ross Foote has described him as a “grim reaper,” and Foote has seized the opportunity to block Billions of dollars for infrastructure projects Thousands of federal workers are being laid off, suggesting workforce cuts could become more drastic.
Meanwhile, the administration acted unilaterally to fund Trump’s priorities, including paying the military this week, easing pressure on what would have been one of the key deadlines for ending the shutdown.
Some of these moves, particularly layoffs and funding transfers, have been criticized as illegal and face challenges in court. A federal judge on Wednesday Temporarily blocked Management was prohibited from firing workers during the shutdown, considering that the cuts appeared to be politically motivated and were implemented without sufficient justification.
With Congress focused on the funding battle, lawmakers have had little time to discuss other issues.
In the House, Johnson said the House would not return until Democrats approved the funding bill, which they did He refused to swear Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva. Democrats say the move is aimed at preventing her from becoming the 218th signature on the impeachment petition aimed at forcing a vote on the release of documents related to the sex trafficking investigation in Jeffrey Epstein.
So far, the lockdown has not shown much impact on public opinion.
AP-NORC poll Released Thursday It found that 3 in 10 American adults had a “somewhat” or “very” favorable view of the Democratic Party, similar to an AP-NORC poll in September. Four in 10 have a “somewhat” or “very” favorable view of the Republican Party, largely unchanged from last month.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Republicans had shown little seriousness in negotiating an end to the shutdown.
“Leader Thune has not come to me with any proposal at this point,” Schumer said Thursday.
Frustrated with congressional leaders, Democrats are increasingly looking to Trump.
And in a CNN town hall on Wednesday night, which included Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, both repeatedly called for the president’s participation when asked why negotiations had stalled.
“President Trump is not talking. That’s the problem,” Sanders said.
Ocasio-Cortez added that Trump should “host congressional leaders at the White House more regularly.”
Democrats’ focus on Trump reflects his leadership style — which doesn’t allow much to happen in Congress without his approval — and the fact that any funding bill needs the president’s signature to become law.
But this time, Republican leaders who control the House and Senate are resisting any attempt to get Trump to intervene.
“You can’t negotiate when you’re holding someone hostage,” said South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, who added that Trump’s participation would allow Democrats to try the same tactic in future legislative battles.
Trump has largely followed this directive. After previously saying that he would be open to negotiating with Democrats on health insurance support, he backed down after Republican leaders pointed out that he had misspoke.
This is unlikely to change at the moment. Trump has no plans to personally intervene to broker a deal with Democrats, according to a senior White House official who declined to be identified to discuss private conversations. The official added that the only temporary funding bill that Democrats can expect is the one that is already on the table.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said Thursday, “The president is happy to have a conversation about health care policy, but he will not do so while Democrats hold the American people hostage.”
In his second term, Trump took a top-down approach, leaving little in Congress to act without his approval.
“What’s clear to me is that Mike Johnson and John Thune aren’t doing much without Donald Trump telling them what to do,” said Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona.
His grip is particularly strong in the Republican-led House of Representatives, where its speaker is Mike Johnson EffectivelyHe owes his job For Trump, and He depends On his influence in power through difficult legislative battles.
When Republicans blocked votes on Trump’s priorities in Congress, he would phone them or summon them to his office to influence them directly. When that didn’t work, he vowed to remove them in the next election. It has led many Democrats to believe that the only way to reach a deal is through the White House rather than through the House Speaker’s office.
Democrats also want assurances from the White House that they will not back away from the agreement. The White House earlier this year cut off legislative authority entirely with Reducing $4.9 billion in foreign aid in August through a legally questionable process known as “pocket cancellation.” Before he took office late last year, Trump and his ally Elon Musk burst Bipartisan funding agreement negotiated by both parties.
“I think we need to see ink on paper. I think we need to see legislation. I think we need to see votes,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I don’t accept pinky promises. That’s not the work I do.”
Both parties also see little reason to bow to public pressure, believing they are winning the messaging battle.
“Everyone thinks they’re winning,” Murkowski said. “No one wins when everyone loses. And that’s what’s happening now. The American people are losing.”
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Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.