The threat of a government shutdown over funding for Donald Trump’s precious wall appears to have receded as Trump folded like a cheap suit. Or, as his chief of staff, Reince Priebus, put it, he showed “some reasonableness on the wall.” (Has anyone told Trump that Priebus said he was being reasonable? That seems like a firing offense in the Trump White House.) Democrats are still fighting to protect the Affordable Care Act subsidy payments Trump has threatened to withhold:
“Six million people could lose their health care, which could become unaffordable,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader.
The House Democratic whip, Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, said the payments were something Republicans “need to do for the American people, not as a ‘give’ to Democrats in negotiations.”
Another central point in the negotiations is a dispute over health benefits for retired miners who may lose their coverage, an issue that led to a near shutdown last year. Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and other Democrats want those benefits extended, and miners have been a big constituency for Mr. Trump. On Tuesday, Mr. McConnell said he supported “a permanent fix on miners’ health care.”
Republicans continue to be noxious oozing sores of dishonesty:
“This is a good time to stabilize the government,” said Senator Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri and a member of the Appropriations Committee. “And then whatever debates we didn’t have in the next three days, we could have in the next three months or three years.”
Whereas during the Obama years Republicans never saw it as a good time to stabilize the government, taking one hostage after another and creating constant crisis. Funny how that works when you’re dealing with a collection of horrible individuals who’ve spent years drunk on power operating as part of an extremist mob and now suddenly feel like there might be some fallout if they don’t at least start pretending to care about governing.