Senate Republican calls closed-door GOP meeting an ‘intergalactic freak show’
President Donald Trump has ordered senators to remain in Washington D.C. throughout the weekend to negotiate an end to the ongoing government shutdown. But negotiations — even among Republicans — have become fractious.
That's according to a Friday article in Politico, which reported that bipartisan talks in the Senate have appeared to sputter after an offer from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was almost instantly rejected by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) along with most of the Senate Republican Conference. That deal included a one-year extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that are due to expire at the end of 2025, in exchange for Democrats voting for the House of Representatives' continuing resolution that House Republicans passed in September.
Now, Politico reports that senators are once again at an impasse. Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) was not optimistic that his colleagues would be able to hammer out an agreement by the end of the weekend.
"What we have here is an intergalactic freak show," Kennedy said after leaving a closed-door meeting with the Senate Republican Conference. When asked what senators could accomplish this weekend, the Louisiana Republican said "nothing."
"We're going to be here for a long time," he said.
Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), whose bill to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps) was blocked by Thune in October, was unmoved by Republicans' apparent inability to come together on a solution to end the shutdown.
"My adage is, put them in a barn and don’t let them out until they come up with a solution," he told Politico.
According to the outlet, senior members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have been assembling a three-bill package that would fund government agencies and programs for a full year, while bipartisan Senate negotiators are contemplating three separate bills to fund government agencies through next year. Senators are also pushing for legislation that would prevent Trump from making so-called "pocket rescissions," in which the president refuses to allow money appropriated by Congress to be spent. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) argued it was "insane" that Trump had yet to meet with Congressional leadership to iron out a deal.
"They refuse to engage," he said. "It’s killing the country."
