Dubai, United Arab Emirates – The US government shutdown due to the lack of federal funding entered its second week on Wednesday.
At a time when a state of stagnation prevails in the Congress building as the House of Representatives closes its doors.
While the Senate is floundering in a spiral of failed votes on a rejected plan to reopen the government.
President Donald Trump is threatening mass layoffs of federal employees and refusing to pay the rest’s back salaries.
As the government shutdown enters its second week, there is no clear end to the crisis in sight.
“You have to negotiate,” Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, said at Senate headquarters Tuesday evening. This is the way to reach a solution.”
But no talks are taking place between the US administration and the Democrats, at least within the limits of what is announced.
health insurance
Republicans, who control the majority in Congress, believe they have the upper hand politically.
They are countering Democrats’ demands for quick funding to support health insurance. This is part of any plan to end the shutdown.
But Democrats stuck to their position. They are convinced that Americans were on their side in the battle to prevent an impending rise in health care prices.
They hold President Trump responsible for the shutdown.
A heterogeneous group of senators, both Republicans and Democrats, exchanged conversations about options for addressing the health insurance problem.
Senator Susan Collins of Maine also presented her own plans.
Two prominent Republicans, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, said action must be taken to stop health insurance rate increases.
In addition, Trump himself indicated his openness to negotiating with Democrats regarding their demands to save health care subsidies.
Earlier this week, the president said talks were already underway because he wanted “excellent health care” for the people. However, he changed his tone hours later to say the government must reopen first.
Salary problem
At the same time, the administration of US President Donald Trump warned against not guaranteeing late salaries to federal employees during the government shutdown.
It thus reverses a long-standing policy of approximately 750,000 employees temporarily laid off due to the shutdown. This is according to a memo distributed by the White House.
It is noteworthy that during his first term, Trump signed a law after the longest government shutdown in 2019. It ensured that federal employees receive salaries that are delayed during any interruption of federal funding.
But in the new memo, the White House Office of Management and Budget states that Congress must provide back wages, if it wants to, as part of any government funding bill.
The Republican administration’s move is widely seen as a way to pressure members of Congress. This is meant to end the government shutdown, which has entered its seventh day.
“There are people who don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’re going to take care of them differently,” Trump said during a White House event.
He added that back wages “depends on who we talk about”.
Refusing to pay salaries retroactively to workers is a blatant departure from norms and practices. Some of these workers must remain in their jobs as essential employees.
It will almost certainly be met with legal countermeasures.
While federal employees, as well as military service members, often did not receive their salaries during previous shutdowns. However, they almost always received their benefits once the government reopened.
“This should make clear the importance and necessity of Democrats doing the right thing here,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a press conference at the Capitol. He urged the passage of the Temporary Government Funding Act. This, he stated, was necessary to end the government shutdown.
Johnson, an attorney, added that he had not read the memo in full. He noted, however, “there are some legal analysts who say it may not be necessary or appropriate to pay federal employees”.
But Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington has strongly criticized the Trump administration for defying the law.
