"It's pretty clear we're shutting down": Democrats brace for impact
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House Democrats applaud as Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks at a rally on the U.S. Capitol steps on Sept. 30. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
House Democrats emerged from a closed-door meeting Tuesday talking more in terms of what to do if the government shuts down than about how to prevent the shutdown itself.
Why it matters: Not only are the two parties far apart in their positions on government funding with fewer than 10 hours to go until the shutdown deadline — they're not even really negotiating, lawmakers say.
- "We're closer to having negotiations with the Martians than we are with the White House," Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) told Axios coming out of Tuesday's meeting.
- "If Republicans are insistent on shutting down the government, then a big thing of what we need to do is prepare our constituents, try to minimize this damage," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
Driving the news: Democrats are on Capitol Hill this week trying to cajole Republicans to negotiate a government spending deal that renews expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) sat down with President Trump at the White House on Monday, but with few results to show for it.
- Senate Democrats are refusing to lend their votes to a Republican measure that would keep the government funded until November but without addressing the ACA subsidies.
What we're hearing: Jeffries told his members at Tuesday's meeting that he hasn't heard from the White House since his sitdown with Trump, according to multiple sources familiar with his remarks.
- The Democratic leader said "his expectation" is that Senate Democrats will vote down Republicans' latest attempt to pass their stopgap spending bill this afternoon, according to one of the sources.
- After that, he said, there will "likely be some reengagement" from Republicans before the midnight shutdown deadline.
- One House Democrat, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the hope is that the vote will make Republicans "realize we're not f**king around."
Yes, but: Jeffries' members are pessimistic about a pre-shutdown resolution. "I don't have confidence in Republican leadership, period," said the lawmaker who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
- Said a second House Democrat who spoke anonymously: "It's pretty clear we're shutting down. I think everyone's just preparing for what that actually means."
- "What that means for staff, what that means for agencies and how we're going to be communicating to people," the lawmaker added.
Between the lines: Many House Democrats, asked about the odds of a shutdown, pointed to an AI-generated deepfake video Trump posted online Monday that depicted Jeffries wearing a sombrero.
- "I mean, did you see what Trump posted yesterday? Doesn't seem like he's interested in doing anything to keep the government open," said Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.).
- "It is an indication that these are not serious people," said the first House Democrat who spoke anonymously.
Zoom out: This would be the first government shutdown since 2019, during Trump's first presidency.
- Democrats and Republicans have both expressed confidence they can win politically from a shutdown.
- Democrats are facing demands from their grassroots base to play hardball with Trump and refuse to budge for anything less than a total capitulation from the White House.
The bottom line: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), asked if a shutdown will happen tonight, told Axios, "One might think that."
