Republicans are relishing a role reversal in the shutdown fight

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press WASHINGTON AP Gathered in the unusually quiet halls of the U S Capitol Republican leaders faced the cameras for a second day and implored Democrats to reopen the cabinet Related Articles YouTube Disney and Meta have all settled Inside President Trump s million payday In hepatitis B vaccine debate CDC panel sidesteps key exposure exposure Federal shutdowns usually don t do much economic damage There are reasons to worry about this one Trump asks colleges to commit to his political agenda and get favorable access to federal money Everybody in Washington hates a shutdown until it becomes a useful tool We want to protect hardworking federal workers House Speaker Mike Johnson noted Thursday morning before criticizing his counterparts Democrats are the ones who have decided to inflict the pain It s a striking role reversal Budget standoffs for years have been the bane of Republican congressional leaders who had to wrestle with conservatives on their side ready to shut down the regime to get their strategy demands Democrats often stood as willing partners to keeping the authorities open lending crucial votes to protect programs they had championed Both parties have comprehensively flip-flopped to the opposite side of the same issue that hasn t changed declared GOP Sen Rand Paul Congress has truly entered the upside down world The change is happening in large part because President Donald Trump exercises top-down control over a mostly unified GOP and faces little internal resistance to his budget priorities The shift is unfolding as the shutdown threatens cabinet services forces the furlough of federal workers and gives the Trump administration another opportunity to remake the federal administration Democrats meanwhile have been left scrambling for leverage in the first year of Trump s second term using the funding fight to exert what influence they can It s an awkward posture for a party that has long cast itself as the adults in the room during shutdown threats something not lost on Republicans At a Wednesday morning news conference Republicans looped an old clip of New York Democratic Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez declaring It s not normal to shut down the establishment if we don t get what we want A new GOP consensus on short-term spending Short-term regime funding act known as continuing resolutions on Capitol Hill once roiled hardline conservatives who viewed them as a dereliction of their duty to set the authorities s funding levels That fight became so bitter in that right-wing lawmakers initiated the ouster of Kevin McCarthy as House speaker after he relied on Democrats to pass a clean continuing resolution But now Paul of Kentucky has been the lone Republican to join Senate Democrats in opposing a short-term funding measure backed by GOP leaders that would keep administration funding generally at current levels through Nov In explaining his vote Paul mentioned the measure continues Biden spending levels which Trump had previously pledged to roll back Several of Paul s previous fiscal hawk allies however have changed their tune We need to reopen the ruling body Let s fix America s problems let s work together to solve them but let s reopen the governing body Vice President JD Vance noted Thursday When he was in the Senate Vance never voted in favor of final passage of a continuing resolution Instead he argued that the leverage should be used to gain key strategy wins Why shouldn t we be trying to force this establishment shutdown fight to get something out of it that s good for the American people Vance disclosed last September on the Shawn Ryan Show podcast This week Vance explained You don t have procedures disagreements that serve as the basis for a ruling body shutdown Trump s budget director Russ Vought has also taken a new tack now that he is back in the White House While Joe Biden was president Vought directed a conservative organization called The Center for Renewing America and counseled Republicans in Congress to use the prospect of a shutdown to gain plan concessions Yet this week he charged that Democrats were hostage taking as they demanded that Congress take up medical care program In retaliation Vought has threatened to initiate mass layoffs of federal workers and Wednesday stated that the White House was withholding funding for already approved projects in selected blue states House Majority Whip Tom Emmer R-Mn center with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise R-La from right and House Speaker Mike Johnson R-La speaks during a news conference at the Capitol Thursday Oct in Washington AP Photo Manuel Balce Ceneta Trump s tight grip unifies the GOP on the surface The shutdown which began Wednesday shows no sign of resolution Republicans appear increasingly relaxed with their position reflecting Trump s firm control on the party s agenda In a striking contrast to the internal division that once plagued GOP spending fights party leaders displayed unity on the Capitol balcony on the first day of the shutdown The President House Republicans Senate Republicans we re all united on this Senate Majority Leader John Thune disclosed at the gathering while holding the pages of the Republicans continuing resolution that has already passed the House That bill would reopen the executive if it passed the Senate Trump s second term has seen far less resistance from Republicans than his first His major tax and spending proposal along with his personnel appointments have largely moved forward unchallenged a break from his first term when GOP lawmakers frequently pushed back against his proposals and actions Still tensions remain just below the surface The Republican administration s push for aggressive spending cuts and its resistance to renewing certain medical care subsidies has sparked quiet concern inside the party Signs of Republican unease One of the biggest flashpoints is the impending expiration of Affordable Care Act tax credits Several Republicans are sympathetic to the Democratic demands for an extension of the tax credits If they allowed to expire there will be large rate increases for a multitude of people who purchase their wellness care coverage on the marketplace It would add financial stress to key Republican constituencies like small business owners contractors farmers and ranchers When Sen Mike Rounds a South Dakota Republican floated a one-year extension to the medical care subsidies during a Senate floor vote Wednesday it attracted attention from Democrats and Republicans alike Sometimes there s a misunderstanding that we re divided on the ACA credits we re not So now we re moving forward to eliminate the fraud and also find a way back to pre-pandemic levels Rounds declared There s also a growing unease with how the Trump administration is leading Republicans through the shutdown GOP lawmakers feel they hold the political advantage in the fight but selected are beginning to express doubts as the president and his budget director prepare to unleash mass layoffs and permanent campaign cuts Trump s penchant for hurling insults at Democratic lawmakers a great number of who will be crucial to leading Congress out of the spending impasse has also undercut the messaging of Republican leaders When Johnson was sought Thursday what he thought about Trump posting doctored videos of House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries in a sombrero he offered a bit of advice for his Democratic counterpart Man just ignore it Johnson disclosed