Republicans Are in Shambles Over Trump Shutdown as Johnson Extends House GOP Vacation for Another Week Arrow

Americans Overwhelmingly Blame the GOP for Trump's Shutdown

Republicans are scrambling to keep their story straight on Donald Trump's government shutdown. Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and House Speaker Mike Johnson have spent the past week flailing - going back and forth and contradicting each other on health care, federal workers, and reopening the government - and they're still refusing to show up for work for another week. Meanwhile, Democrats have been in Washington, fighting to protect health care, lower costs, and reopen the government.

In response, DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer released the following statement:

"Donald Trump and his Republican Party are in disarray because they have no real plan to reopen the government and protect working families from the largest single-year premium price hike in U.S. history. Americans know that Republicans are responsible for taking the government hostage, and that's why Thune and Johnson are tripping over themselves to try to get their story straight. Trump and Republicans should get back to work and join Democrats in a common-sense plan that would reopen the government and prevent 24 million Americans from seeing their health insurance premiums skyrocket."

ICYMI: POLITICO: Trump's off-script comments cause shutdown headaches for GOP

President Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are straining to project a united front against Democrats.

By Dasha Burns and Jordain Carney

• One week into the government shutdown, top Republican leaders appear to have lost the plot.
• Trump scrambled the congressional leaders' messaging Monday when he told reporters in the Oval Office he would "like to see a deal made for great health care" and that he was "talking to Democrats about it." Within hours, Trump walked it back[.]
• Not only have those moves so far failed to move Democrats off their positions, they have left Johnson and Thune flat-footed as they confront questions about the GOP strategy for ending the shutdown.
• The two leaders, for instance, both struggled to square their own support for federal workers with the administration's new position questioning back pay for furloughed employees.
• "I would say it depends who we're talking about," [Trump] told reporters when asked about guaranteeing back pay. "For the most part, we're going to take care of our people, but for some people they don't deserve to be taken care of."
• Trump and Vought have not followed that strategy, seemingly preoccupied with punishing their political enemies and executing an ideological agenda targeting the federal workforce and programs.
• In contrast to the GOP divisions, Democrats have been largely successful so far in their effort to focus attention on health care - in particular, on Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies that expire at the end of the year.