Senate Republicans stood shoulder to shoulder with President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, signaling no cracks in their resolve as the government shutdown stretched into its fourth week and pressure mounted for a deal.
Gathered in the Rose Garden at Trump’s invitation, GOP senators vowed to hold firm against Democrats' demands for renewed healthcare funding before reopening the government.
The event, part working lunch and part show of unity, showcased a party intent on projecting solidarity even as federal agencies remained closed and hundreds of thousands of workers went without pay.
Trump opened the gathering with a flourish, calling Republicans “a team that delivers” and personally praising several senators for their “loyalty and leadership.” He also used the moment to criticize former President Joe Biden and preview new trade and foreign policy moves, declaring, “We’re a wealthy nation again.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota told reporters afterward that Republicans were “a united team” and that the president was eager to reopen the government — but only after Democrats agree to negotiate on healthcare subsidies.
“The president, obviously, is very interested in getting the government open,” Thune said, “but open up the government first.”
Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall said the lunch was meant “to keep all the team together … to make sure that we don’t have any weak links.” He added that Democrats “need to fund the government first — then we’ll sit down and fix the ACA.” This, according to a CBS News report.
Other Republicans echoed that message. As CBS reported, Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma told reporters, “I think most of the conversation is what happens next after the Democrats decide to reopen the government and get off the Schumer shutdown.”
Florida Sen. Rick Scott noted that while Trump is the public face of the standoff, responsibility ultimately lies with Congress. “We’re the ones that pass the budgets,” he said, according to the CBS News live update. “It’s not his responsibility, it’s ours.”
Sen. James Lankford, also of Oklahoma, warned that Americans are “paying the price for Washington’s politics.”
He said the shutdown has left “hard-working Americans and millions of federal employees” caught in the middle of a partisan battle that should never have reached this point.
Meanwhile, the economic fallout is deepening.
Economists warn the shutdown could slow growth if it continues much longer.
Head Start preschool programs are scrambling for funds, and roughly 900,000 federal workers are furloughed while another 700,000 are working without pay, according to federal estimates.
Ordinarily, most nonessential government operations halt during a shutdown, but the Trump administration has sought to limit the disruption — ensuring troops are paid and keeping some services running.
Trump even floated reopening the shuttered Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo, saying, “We should probably just open them.”
Not every Republican senator was invited to the Rose Garden display. Trump made a point of noting one empty seat.
“We have everybody but one person,” he said with a grin. “You’ll never guess who that is.”
The absent lawmaker was Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a frequent Trump critic whom the president described as someone who “automatically votes no on everything.”
Democrats, meanwhile, blasted the event. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had reached out to Trump, urging him “to sit down and negotiate with us to resolve the healthcare crisis, address it and end the Trump shutdown.”
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