As the threat of a federal government shutdown looms, President Donald Trump has reportedly decided against meeting with congressional Democrats.
The Republican strategy appears to be cornering Democrats into voting for a seven-week funding extension to keep the federal government operational. If not, they face a shutdown where the Trump administration has indicated it will further cut the federal workforce and programs.
According to the Western Journal, a senior White House official, who chose to remain anonymous, stated, "We're going to extract maximum pain." The official further warned that Democrats "will pay a huge price for this."
The official's comments suggest that the administration believes the Democrats will bear the brunt of the consequences of a shutdown. "Historically, it's the aggressor that always loses," the official added. "And quite simply, their constituencies and their priorities are all going to get chewed up, and ours, not so much."
Democrats have indicated they will not vote to keep the government running unless a list of spending items is included. In response to this, President Trump took to Truth Social, stating, "After reviewing the details of the unserious and ridiculous demands being made by the Minority Radical Left Democrats in return for their Votes to keep our thriving Country open, I have decided that no meeting with their Congressional Leaders could possibly be productive."
Trump accused Democrats of wanting "over $1 Trillion Dollars in new spending to continue free healthcare for Illegal Aliens (A monumental cost!), force Taxpayers to fund Transgender surgery for minors, have dead people on the Medicaid roles, allow Illegal Alien Criminals to steal Billions of Dollars in American Taxpayer Benefits, try to force our Country to again open our Borders to Criminals and to the World, allow men to play in womens sports, and essentially create Transgender operations for everybody."
With Trump's stern message to Democrats, the White House official told Politico, "we're bracing for impact." The official expressed confidence that Democrats cannot sustain their position for long and that Trump's allies in Congress will stand firm with the president.
However, there are signs of some movement among Democrats. The Hill reported that informally, there are "a handful of Democratic senators who want to avoid a government shutdown." These Democrats are weighing whether the proposed health care spending increase is worth triggering a shutdown.
"There is a small handful of intelligent Democrats who dont want to see the government shut down [and] are working behind the scenes," a Senate Republican source said.
To pass a stopgap spending bill, the Senate requires seven Democratic votes to join with the 53 Republicans. Among the Democrats reportedly trying to prevent a shutdown is New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who has announced she will not run for re-election in 2026.
As the situation unfolds, it remains to be seen how the Democrats will respond to the Republican strategy and whether a government shutdown can be averted. The stakes are high, and the decisions made in the coming days will have far-reaching implications for the American people and the nation's economy.
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