Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., sent a letter to President Donald Trump on Wednesday to demand "a bipartisan meeting" to discuss the government shutdown.
Likely emboldened by Tuesday's election victories in Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races and the New York City mayor's race, Schumer and Jeffries demanded a meeting to "end the GOP shutdown of the federal government and decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis."
"Democrats stand ready to meet with you face to face, anytime and anyplace," Schumer and Jeffries wrote Trump. "Thank you for your attention to this matter."
That last line, no doubt, was a jab at Trump, who often ends social media posts with those words.
The federal government has been shut down since Oct. 1 following Senate Democrats' refusal to support a clean continuing resolution. The result has been around 750,000 federal workers furloughed and millions more working without pay.
The shutdown has entered its 36th day, breaking the record as the longest ever.
Economists warn the shutdown could cost the U.S. economy up to $14 billion and shave as much as 2% off fourth-quarter GDP.
The letter by Schumer and Jeffries likely serves two strategic purposes: to force GOP leaders on the defensive over the shutdown and to harness election-night energy among the Democrat base.
The letter also highlights how Democrats intend to tie future funding negotiations to issues such as healthcare subsidies and social spending.
Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of senators is working Wednesday to end the shutdown, dangling a sausage-making proposal to give Democrats a guarantee on a vote to extend Obamacare subsidies, according to reports.
The proposal under discussion would pass three appropriations bills to fund several agencies for a full year and temporarily reopen the rest of the government, The Washington Post reported.
In exchange, Senate Republicans would agree to hold a future vote on extending Obamacare subsidies that Democrats want to preserve, sources told the Post.
During a Wednesday morning breakfast with GOP senators, Trump tried to rally support for ending the Senate filibuster, calling it the only way to break Democrat obstruction.
"It's time for Republicans to do what they have to do, and that's terminate the filibuster," he said. "If you don't, you'll be in bad shape. We won't pass any legislation."
The president said Democrats in the Senate were acting like "kamikaze pilots" by prolonging what he called a "Democrat-created shutdown," warning that millions of Americans were being hurt as the government remained closed.
He said the standoff underscored the urgency for Republican lawmakers to stand united.
"This is now officially the longest shutdown in American history," Trump said. "The radical left in the Senate has shown zero interest in reopening the government. They'll take down the country if they have to."
Newsmax Wires contributed to this report.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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