These are the main reasons why the Republicans and Democrats can’t find a solution to the government shutdown

There doesn’t appear to be any end in sight for the government shutdown that began at midnight on 1 October. As of Wednesday, it became the longest in United States history surpassing the record 35-day shutdown from Trump’s first term.

That one was sparked when Trump refused to sign a funding bill that didn’t include financing for his border wall, eventually he relented and found money from another source. However, unlike that time, he hasn’t been negotiating with Democrats during this shutdown, saying he will only do so when they pass a clean continuing resolution to reopen the government.

Furthermore, his administration is trying to make this one as painful as possible for Democrats in the hopes of making them cave. However, Democrats are holding firm for the time being, and the results of Tuesday’s elections may have put more spine in their backs to continue to resist.

GOP and Dems at loggerheads

Republicans control all the levers of power in Washington DC which allowed them to pass their ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ this summer. It gave major tax cuts, mainly to the wealthiest, funded by cuts to programs like Medicaid, healthcare for the poorest.

Democratic senators are refusing to sign onto the continuing resolution funding bill, which was passed along party lines in the GOP-controlled House, unless Republicans agree to restore Medicaid funding and extend Affordable Care Act, i.e. Obamacare, subsidies to keep Americans health insurance premiums from skyrocketing.

Trump and the Republican leadership say they will not negotiate until the Democrats reopen the government. However, some centrists in both parties have been speaking to see if they can find a way to end the shutdown.

There is also hope that Trump may finally get involved after his comments on Wednesday saying the shutdown was a “big factor” in the GOP’s dismal performance in Tuesday’s elections. However, he has also been pushing for his party to eliminate the filibuster, which creates a 60-vote threshold to pass a bill, something that Republicans would be loath to do.

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