Shutdown Talks Need More Trump Involvement, Says Sen. Kaine: NPR

The shutdown negotiations cannot move forward without President Trump getting more involved, because “Republicans are afraid to do anything unless the president blesses him,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat.

The federal government has been paralyzed since October 1. Congress was unable to pass either measure proposed by the two major parties. Republicans want a clear spending resolution to fund the government for seven weeks. Democrats want to fund the government and expand Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies used by more than 20 million people, reverse cuts in federal health care spending and limit Trump’s power to withhold funds allocated by Congress.

Both parties blame each other for the closure. House Speaker Mike Johnson warned Monday that the United States is headed for one of the longest lockdowns in U.S. history “unless Democrats abandon their partisan demands and pass a clear, no-strings-attached budget to reopen the government and pay our federal workers.”

In an interview with Morning editionKaine said the Democrats’ funding plan is not a demand but an alternative to “fixing this health care mess” created by Trump and the Republican Party. The impasse means that, for now, there is no end in sight to the shutdown,

As the situation drags on, federal employees in Virginia may soon feel or already feel the pain of going without pay. More than 4 percent of the state’s nonfarm workers are employed by the federal government, according to the Labor of Bureau Statistics. The state also has the second-largest number of active-duty military personnel, according to the Department of Defense.

Kaine said that while Virginians are troubled by the federal government shutdown, many have also been troubled by “layoffs, clawbacks of federal public health funding (and) cancellation of economic development projects” made since Trump’s return to the White House.

The administration is following through on a plan by White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought to permanently lay off more federal employees. Last week, the government said in court papers that more than 4,000 workers started receiving downsizing notices.

“It didn’t start when the shutdown started,” Kaine said. “It started on Donald Trump’s inauguration day.”

Where Kaine shares commonality with Trump is on guaranteeing that troops will be paid during the shutdown. Asset ordered the Pentagon to use some $8 billion unused research and development funds to pay the troops on their scheduled pay date of October 15.

Kaine said “Virginians would generally support the idea” that available Pentagon dollars be spent on troop pay, noting that the executive branch move would make him nervous if the money was diverted from other government priorities.

When it comes to reopening the government, Kaine said his constituents want him to “get a deal that the White House will honor,” and called on Trump and Republicans to engage in productive negotiations.

“If the president commits, we can solve this problem in 48 hours,” Kaine said.

You can listen to the full interview by clicking play on the button at the top of this article.

The digital version of this interview was edited by Treye Green.