Could Republicans be headed for No Kings déjà vu?
Plus: Adriano Espaillat’s 10-point immigration oversight plan, Nancy Pelosi retirement rumors are a-swirlin', and Donald Trump’s 11th-hour Cuomo endorsement.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Republicans are again betting that Democrats can be swayed by outside political momentum to end the shutdown—this time, from expected wins in tonight’s Virginia, New Jersey, and California elections.
But Democrats say the fight remains squarely about extending the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits. It’s a familiar dynamic: Republicans made a similar prediction after last month’s No Kings rally, only to see Democrats dig in even deeper.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) was among the Republican lawmakers who suggested that the logjam could break after the election results come in.
“I don’t know why it should,” he said when asked if he thought the elections factored into their shutdown strategy. “But for some reason, I guess it does.”
Mike Rounds, South Dakota’s other Republican senator and a junior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, told reporters that Democrats have privately mentioned it to him.
“They’re at about a 25-percent approval rating right now, and as one of their colleagues told me, the only way they can really go up is to show their base that they’re fighting with the president—and that’s what they’re doing right now,” he said. “So once they get to the point where they think they make their points, then I think there’s a possibility of actually getting something done.”
Meanwhile, Democrats see Republicans’ claims that the shutdown is fueled by political motives or animus toward President Trump as proof that the GOP is misreading their resolve. They also view Republicans as misjudging the working-class voters who sent Trump back to the White House but still want affordable health care and a functioning government.
“Republicans are angry, shaken up, confused, perplexed and dismayed because they thought that their my-way-or-the-highway approach to governing was going to prevail,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters on Monday. “And I’m thankful for the leadership of Chuck Schumer and the courage and strength of Senate Democrats because we’re standing up for the health care of the American people—and that matters and that’s what this fight has been all about.”
A few more shutdown news and notes: