The GOP is shutting down the government rather than provide healthcare.

President Donald Trump can't seem to bring himself to make a deal with congressional Democrats. While Democrats are fired up for a showdown with Trump, their main demand in negotiations has been the extension of pandemic-era subsidies for health insurance bought under the Affordable Care Act that are set to expire. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that would cost $350 billion over 10 years, a relative pittance compared with the more than $3 trillion cost of his "big, beautiful bill." Instead, the standoff has become the latest example of a major theme of Trump's second term: his belief that his victory in last year's election gave him a mandate to pursue his agenda aggressively and without respect for the typical checks and balances on the presidency. From imposing sweeping tariffs to bucking court orders and firing officials at independent agencies, Trump has sought to expand the powers of the executive branch, and he’s faced little pushback from Congress or the Supreme Court. But the budget fight is different. Because of Senate rules requiring a supermajority to move ahead with the budget, the Democratic minority has some leverage. Along with the extension of the Obamacare subsidies, they’ve asked for a reversal of cuts to Medicaid in the reconciliation bill that the Congressional Budget Office estimates would lead to millions of Americans losing their health care. Notably, Trump himself promised not to cut entitlement programs — including Medicaid — during his 2024 campaign and has long said he would like to cut health care costs, but he cut Medicaid with the help of the spiteful GOP, anyway. Still, the White House’s official position is that it will not negotiate with Democrats on the budget. For their part, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., want Congress to pass a seven-week continuing resolution, leaving the door open to addressing Obamacare subsidies later this year. The shutdown wouldn’t be Trump’s first. In his first term, he oversaw the longest shutdown in U.S. history — a partial closure that lasted more than a month — over a fight with Democrats over funding for his border wall. That fight ended with Trump caving and signing a resolution to reopen the government without getting the money he’d requested. Trump instigated that fight, and polls at the time showed most Americans blamed him. This time, the White House feels like it can pin the shutdown on Democrats, but a handful of early polls show the public so far thinks Republicans will be responsible.