Defiant Schumer predicts most Americans will pressure Trump to end shutdown

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that Republicans will soon face overwhelming public pressure to end the government shutdown.

Government funding will expire on Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. unless Schumer and his fellow Democrats approve a House-passed stopgap plan to keep operations running through Nov. 21. Schumer blamed President Donald Trump and Republican leaders for steering the country toward a government shutdown, saying Democrats were ready to strike a deal but were met with last-minute stonewalling.

“It’s in their court to solve it. It’s their shutdown. And as I said, they are going to face tremendous pressure from the American people. Trump in the room admitted. I said to him, ‘This is going to be very bad for you, these increases in the health care,’” Schumer said. “And it’s not going to be good for you. It’s not going to be good for America or anybody. And he admitted that. So I think we believe that this is an issue worth fighting for. We hope the Republicans avoid the shutdown.”

Schumer accused Republicans of forcing a government shutdown by refusing to negotiate until the final hour.

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“But if they do it, it’s because they didn’t even negotiate with us till the last minute,” Schumer said.

Schumer said Democrats have already laid out a clear path forward and added that the public will hold Republicans accountable for both the gridlock and the worsening health care crisis.

“Look, first, it’s right now in the Republicans’ court. We said this to Trump yesterday. He can easily call up Thune and Johnson and say, ‘Just add the two parts we want added to the bill.’ They can take it out of our bill, put it in theirs, and solve it. So it’s in their court. And let me just say, the American people are learning how bad this healthcare crisis is, and they will put tremendous heat on Republicans to solve it,” Schumer said.

Democrats are tying their support for a stopgap spending bill to preserving the expanded Obamacare subsidies, saying that Republicans are trying to slash health care for everyday Americans. Trump met with congressional leaders on Monday but walked away without a deal, as Democrats still pushed for healthcare concessions and Republicans held firm on a clean funding bill.

Days earlier, Trump canceled a planned meeting with top Democrats, dismissing their requests as “unserious and ridiculous.” With the House narrowly passing a GOP stopgap measure and Senate Republicans needing Democratic votes to clear the 60-vote threshold, the standoff shows no signs of easing.

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