US government shutdown breaks records with no end in sight

"The partial shutdown of the U.S. government reached its third week on Wednesday, with no signs of a reopening anytime soon. The positions of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate remain locked on the same issues that triggered the shutdown on October 1, which has now become the second-longest in history, surpassed only by the previous one that lasted 34 days during the winter of 20182019, when Donald Trump was also president."

"But even with the extension, the underlying issue would still persist: to approve the budget, the Democrats are demanding the Republicans commit to extend certain subsidies under Obamacare, a law that improved health coverage for citizens without private insurance. Those benefits were introduced during the pandemic and are set to expire at the end of the year. Democrats are also insisting that the Medicaid cuts included in Trump's so-called big, beautiful bill his major tax reform passed in July not be implemented."

"Traditionally, the party that takes the harder line in negotiations leading to a government shutdown is the one that ends up paying the political price, as the public tends to disapprove of using the threat of a government closure as a bargaining tool. But this time at least so far that pattern does not seem to be repeating itself. Polls on whom citizens blame for the halt in government funding are, for now, favoring the Democrats."

Partial U.S. government funding has been shut down for three weeks, making it the second-longest shutdown in U.S. history. Senate Democrats and Republicans remain deadlocked over the same budget issues that began the shutdown on October 1. Democrats demand Republican commitments to extend pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies that expand coverage for uninsured citizens and to prevent Medicaid cuts included in recent tax legislation. Senate votes have repeatedly rejected a temporary Republican funding proposal, and approval requires 60 votes. Polls currently show more citizens blame Republicans than Democrats for the funding halt.

Read at english.elpais.com