If you watched or listened to the mainstream media during the government shutdown, you heard Democrats being asked why they weren’t opening the government.
The Democrat must then give the regular journalist a basic math lesson explaining that since Republicans are in control of the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House, it is their responsibility to find a solution to the government shutdown.
Trump has spent days trying to convince Senate Republicans to blow up the filibuster so they can fund the government without Democratic votes. Senate Republicans have refused.
After what was at least the fifteenth failed vote in the Senate to reopen the government on Speaker Mike Johnson’s clean CR, Senate Democrats did something smart.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced to the floor:
After so many failed votes, it’s clear we need to try something different. What the Senate is doing doesn’t work for either party and doesn’t work for the American people.
Democrats have said we need to address the health care crisis. But Republicans have repeatedly said they will not negotiate for lower health care costs until the government reopens. So let’s find a path to honor both positions.
Democrats would like to see an end to this shutdown, and we want to respect Leader Thune’s wishes not to negotiate the ACA until after the government reopens. That’s why we’d like to make a simple proposal that would reopen the government while extending the ACA premium tax credits, and then have the opportunity to begin negotiating longer-term solutions to health care costs. Let’s do all three.
Keep reading below to see what Democrats offered and how Senate Republicans responded.
