Senate and House Democratic minority leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries called on Trump to hold a bipartisan meeting. “Democrats are ready to meet with you in person, anytime, anywhere,” they wrote in an incendiary public letter to the president.
Trump, however, appeared unforgiving in a speech to Republican senators. The president said Democrats reminded him of “kamikaze” suicide pilots he recently discussed during a visit to Japan. “They will destroy the country.”
That’s why Trump once again urged the Republican majority in the Senate to change the rules. So far, a minority of 41 of the 100 Senate members is enough to prevent debates or votes on legislation such as the budget. This traditional rule, known as the filibuster, is intended to ensure that the government does not arbitrarily push through legislation past the opposition.
Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune again rejected the president’s move. “That won’t happen,” he told US media after the conversation with Trump.
Republicans have major reservations about abolishing the filibuster rule. Critics in the Trump camp warn that if the Democrats win the election, they could then rule unhindered. Trump himself admitted that about half of Republican senators were not convinced by his proposal.
In his own words, he therefore wants to push forward his initiative to change the US election rules so that the Democrats no longer have any chance of winning elections in the future.
The current budget freeze has been in effect since October 1st because Republicans and Democrats in the Senate cannot agree on an interim budget. Democrats are calling for additional money for those in need whose health insurance will be in jeopardy at the end of the year.
The shutdown is now having ever greater effects: around 42 million US citizens who are dependent on food aid have not been able to use it since the weekend. In addition, hundreds of thousands of federal employees are on forced leave.
The budget freeze also has an impact on air traffic. Transport Minister Sean Duffy warned on Tuesday of possible airspace closures because numerous air traffic controllers were calling in sick due to lack of pay. That could cause chaos at airports ahead of two long holiday weekends in November, particularly Thanksgiving on Nov. 27, when many U.S. families gather. At major airports like Houston in Texas, there have been hours of delays and flight cancellations in recent weeks.
The longest shutdown to date lasted a total of 35 days between December 2018 and January 2019. The background at the time was a dispute over the financing of the “border wall” with Mexico that Trump wanted.
