Summary: If lawmakers cannot decide on next year’s budget by Friday, the government may shutdown on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Congress returns to work from its spring break, and the elected men and women have a full plate of items to discuss on their agenda. Some of the main points–President Donald Trump’s Mexican Border Wall as well as Obamacare and tax reform–must be decided on in the next four days or risk a government shut down.
The lawmakers are said to be in a tailspin because, on Friday, last year’s government funding measure will expire, meaning that if the officials do not reach an agreement on how to spend next year’s money, then federal agencies may close on Saturday.
As NPR points out, Saturday will be the 100th day of Trump’s presidency, and President 45 is not looking to have this milestone be tainted. CNN reports that Trump is still pressing for the wall to be built, and Democrats warn the White House that they will not provide border wall money in exchange for Obamacare subsidies.
As expected, Trump tweeted about this on Sunday.
“The Democrats don’t want money from budget going to border wall despite the fact that it will stop drugs and very bad MS 13 gang members,” Trump tweeted.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly told CNN that he believes Trump will be insistent on the border wall issue.
“I think it goes without saying that the president has been pretty straightforward about his desire and the need for a border wall, so I would suspect that he’ll do the right thing for sure, but I would suspect that he’ll be insistent for funding,” Kelly said.
Healthcare is another point of contention between the Democrats and the GOP. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said that he is feeling encouraged to write a new healthcare bill to replace Obamacare, but he will push a vote only when there is enough support to do so.
On Sunday, Trump tweeted that he would possibly withhold health insurance payments to companies working under the Affordable Care Act. According to NPR, if he were to follow through on his threat, he could possibly implode the system.
Overhauling the tax system was another key issue, and Trump said he wanted to cut taxes for businesses and individuals. Democrats countered that they do not want to reform our country’s taxes until the president releases his returns.
While the Democrats and Republicans appear to be in disagreement over these three issues, the White House is reportedly not interested in a shutdown and one official told CNN that they would “do what it takes” to avoid one.