Lawmakers Frustrated With Lack of Trust10/09 06:22

   A president looking to seize power beyond the executive branch. A Congress 
controlled by Republican lawmakers unwilling to directly defy him. And a 
minority party looking for any way to fight back.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- A president looking to seize power beyond the executive 
branch. A Congress controlled by Republican lawmakers unwilling to directly 
defy him. And a minority party looking for any way to fight back.

   The dynamic left Washington in a stalemate Thursday -- the ninth day of the 
government shutdown -- and lawmakers openly venting their frustration as they 
tried to gain traction without the trust that is typically the foundation of 
any bipartisan deal.

   "To have good-faith conversations, you have to have trust. There's a real 
challenge of trust," said Rep. Brad Schneider, chair of the New Democratic 
Coalition, a pragmatic group of House Democrats.

   Groups of lawmakers -- huddled over dinners, on phone calls, and in private 
meetings -- have tried to brainstorm ways out of the standoff that has 
shuttered government offices, kept hundreds of thousands of federal employees 
at home and threatened to leave them without a scheduled payday. But lawmakers 
have found themselves running up against the reality that the relationship 
between the two parties is badly broken.

   "We're in an environment where we need more than a handshake," said Sen. 
Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat who has engaged in talks with Republicans.

   President Donald Trump and Republicans have so far held to the stance that 
they will only negotiate on Democratic demands around health care benefits 
after they vote to reopen the government. They also say Senate Democratic 
leader Chuck Schumer is beholden to the left wing of his party and only staging 
the shutdown fight to stave off a primary challenge.

   "There are some things that I think there is interest on both sides in 
trying to address when it comes to health care in this country," said Senate 
Majority Leader John Thune on Wednesday. "But you can't take the federal 
government hostage and expect to have a reasonable conversation on those 
issues."

   When a handshake deal is not enough

   Democrats have insisted they can't take Trump at his word and therefore need 
more than a verbal commitment for any deal.

   "Donald Trump has no respect for law if he can push outside it, so I think 
we need some safeguards," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat.

   Conflicts over spending power had already been raging before the shutdown as 
the White House pushed to assert maximum power over congressionally approved 
budgets. The White House budget office had canceled scores of government 
contracts, including cutting out the legislative branch entirely with a $4.9 
billion cut to foreign aid in August through a legally dubious process known as 
a "pocket rescission."

   That enraged Democrats -- as well as irked some Republicans who criticized 
it as executive overreach.

   "I hate rescissions, to be honest with you, unless they're congressionally 
approved," said Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican.

   Matt Glassman, a fellow at the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown 
University, said the president's use of rescissions was "blowing up the 
underlying dynamic of the bargaining" because it inserts intense partisanship 
into the budget appropriations process that otherwise requires compromise, 
particularly in the Senate.

   Then, as the government entered a shutdown, Trump's budget director Russ 
Vought laid out arguments that the president would have even more power to lay 
off workers and even cancel pay due to furloughed federal workers once the 
funding lapse is solved. Vought has also announced that the administration was 
withholding billions of dollars for infrastructure projects in states with 
Democratic senators who have voted for the shutdown.

   Trump has cast Vought's actions as the consequences of Democratic 
obstruction, even sharing a video that depicted him as the grim reaper. But on 
Capitol Hill, there has been an acknowledgment that the hardball tactics are 
making it harder to negotiate.

   "I think with senators carrots work better than sticks," said Sen. Kevin 
Cramer, a North Dakota Republican.

   One Democratic idea may win GOP support

   Before they vote to reopen the government, Democrats' main demand is that 
Congress take up an extension of subsidies for health plans offered under the 
Affordable Care Act. Trump has sounded open to a deal, saying that he wants 
"great health care" for Americans.

   What's received less attention is that Democrats also want new safeguards in 
the law limiting the White House's ability to claw back, or rescind, funding 
already approved by Congress. While final appropriations bills are still being 
worked out, Republicans have been open to the idea.

   "When you end the shutdown and get back to regular order within the 
appropriations bills, there's very clear language about how we feel about 
rescissions," said Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican on the Senate Appropriations 
Committee. "I think you'll find hard, solid support from Republicans to see 
that what we agree to will be executed on."

   In the meantime, the main sticking point for lawmakers this week has been 
finding any agreement on extending the health care subsidies.

   The consequences of an extended shutdown

   As the shutdown drags on without sign of significant progress to ending the 
impasse, lawmakers are looking ahead to the dates when federal employees will 
miss a payday.

   Active-duty military troops would miss a paycheck on Oct. 15. Some lawmakers 
are getting nervous about both the financial implications for the troops and 
the political blowback of allowing soldiers to go without pay.

   As he argued with Democrats on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson pointed 
out that House Republicans have already passed a stopgap bill that would "keep 
the government open to make sure TSA agents, Border Patrol agents, the troops 
and everybody else gets paid."

   There has been some discussion in Congress of passing partial government 
funding legislation to ensure that military members are paid, but so far 
Republicans have tried to keep the pressure on Democrats to vote for their bill.

   Lawmakers seemed ready to dig in and try to push each other to the brink.

   "I would not challenge Donald Trump's resolve on this if I was anybody," 
Cramer said.