Democrats are blocking GOP bid to reopen the government — for the ninth time

Senate Republicans have tried for the ninth time to reopen the government, failed, and are beginning to believe Senate Democrats won’t budge until next week.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats once again blocked a continuing resolution passed by the House of Representatives (CR) as they sought to extend expired Obamacare subsidies.

They argue that unless Republicans in Congress and President Donald Trump come to the table and negotiate an extension of the expiring tax breaks, they will not give Senate Majority Leader John Thune the votes needed to reopen the government.

Republicans eye new funding battle as shutdown crisis continues

Democrats also contend that unless Congress acts before November 1, the start of open enrollment for Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Americans who rely on the subsidies will see their health care premiums skyrocket. However, their refusal to vote with Republicans to reopen the government has sent the shutdown into its third week, closing the window to negotiate an extension of support before the open enrollment deadline begins.

“With open enrollment looming, Republicans cannot continue to delay this,” Schumer said. “This is happening now. The health care crisis is here now.”

But Republicans sent a message that Senate Democrats are waiting for an upcoming “No Kings” protest in Washington, D.C., on Saturday before finding a way out of the shutdown.

Thune acknowledged that there are still ongoing talks about finding a way out of the shutdown, but he believes Senate Democrats won’t make a move until after Saturday, two weeks before open enrollment begins.

Trump slams ‘weak’ Schumer as Democrats once again block GOP effort to reopen government

“Right now, I think Democrats, in particular, are holding on,” he said. “I think you have to get past this Saturday. This is a fundamental problem for them. But I hope they get more realistic in some of their conversations. But, yes, this has to end.”

Senator Mike Rounds, who has been involved in conversations with Republicans and Democrats on the Obamacare issue, said the other side of the aisle likely won’t participate this week, “because they have a big protest going on next Saturday.”

“Once we get past that, hopefully they will come up with a solution and actually start looking at the impact of keeping the government closed,” he said.

He noted that there were already talks among lawmakers about what to do with the expiring subsidies “before the shutdown.”

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“It really surprised a lot of us when our Democratic colleagues decided they were going to shut down the government anyway,” Rounds said.

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Amid the health care dispute, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., noted that the shutdown had much deeper ramifications, particularly on air travel where air traffic controllers could go without pay if the shutdown continues.

He said Senate Democrats and Schumer had become beholden to the Democratic Party’s “radical left.”

“They are coming to Washington this weekend,” Barrasso said. “They’ve let us know how dangerous they are by admitting that their lockdown strategy won’t change until planes fall out of the sky. Innocent people are collateral damage in this dangerous political game Democrats are playing.”