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Democrats Emboldened After 'No Kings' Protests As Government Shutdown Drags On

WASHINGTON ― Congressional Republicans believed that Democrats would cave on government funding after the national “No Kings” protests took place over the weekend, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

If anything, Democratic lawmakers feel even more energized by the sight of millions of Americans rallying against the Trump administration and authoritarianism in hundreds of cities across the country.

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“That was all a Republican myth from the very start,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Tuesday. “The ‘No Kings’ rallies were just reinforcement of the view that Donald Trump should not be given a blank check to continue his lawless activities, and that we need to address this huge spike in health care costs. So I think the Republicans put out a line that they wanted to believe, but it was never true.”

“It had nothing to do with where we are today,” added Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.). “The reason we’re here today is to ensure that 24 million Americans don’t see a large increase in their cost, and many of them will be forced to drop their health care coverage. That’s why we are where we are.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and other top Republicans have called the “No Kings” protests a “Hate America” rally and said Democrats in Congress had shut down the government to score points with the protesters. They also predicted that the protests would be violent, but they were peaceful.

“The American people would have an open government if Democrats were not terrified of their radical base,” Johnson said at a press conference on Tuesday. “The Democrats are not governing in good faith — they’re covering their own tail.”

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The government has been shuttered for 21 days, with little progress or negotiations occurring in Washington to open it back up. Democrats maintain it’s up to Trump to bring both parties to the table and agree to extend enhanced health insurance subsidies for millions of people enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans. The subsidies expire at the end of the year, and insurers are already projecting skyrocketing insurance premiums next year.

Trump needs to “come to the table and relieve the suffering of millions of Americans who have to pay way more for health care and all the ones who would be denied health care,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday.

Republicans say they’re open to talking about an extension of the subsidies ― but only after Democrats vote to reopen the government.

“I don’t think they have an exit strategy,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said. “I know they’re betting on the announcement of the large rate increases on Affordable Care Act policies are going to provoke a negotiation, and we’re happy to talk about that, but not while the government is shut down.”

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The Senate is expected to vote this week on a standalone bill that would pay some “essential” federal government employees, including active-duty members of the military. But that isn’t likely to advance either, amid the stalemate.

The other issue preventing the government from reopening is the White House unilaterally freezing or canceling spending previously approved by Congress. Democrats have complained bitterly about the Trump administration’s rescissions of congressional spending, calling it illegal. Even some Republicans have acknowledged that it’s only making things worse on Capitol Hill.

“We’d be suckers to sign on to a budget that was written only by Republicans when the president is telling us that as soon as he signs it, he’s going to spend money in Republican states and not spend money in Democratic states,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told reporters on Monday.

“Like, I’d be an idiot to sign on to a budget that basically guarantees my programs don’t get funded,” he added.