Notices of rising health insurance premiums are landing in voters’ mailboxes and sending some to town halls to vent their frustration. Republicans have offered few answers, saying they won’t negotiate until Democrats end the shutdown. The moment revives a familiar dynamic in a the Republican Party that is united in opposing the Affordable Care Act but still without a clear plan to replace it. The lack of a plan to address to rising costs risks political backlash for Republicans in next year's midterms. Democrats have said tax credits that kept the costs lower should be extended and refused to reopen the government until they are.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has posted a notice on its website saying federal food aid will not go out Nov. 1 as the government shutdown drags on. The cutoff would expand the impact of the impasse to some of the Americans most in need unless a resolution is found in just a few days. The notice comes after the Trump administration said it will not tap roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to keep the benefits flowing into November. The Trump administration blames Democrats, who say they won’t agree to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate with them on extending expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.
The government shutdown has reopened debate on the future of health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Tax credits for people who get health insurance through the law expire at the end of the year. Democrats say they won’t vote to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate an extension of the subsidies. Republicans say they won't negotiate that issue until the government reopens. As lawmakers debate, a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds about 6 in 10 Americans are “extremely” or “very” concerned about their health costs going up in the next year.
As the government shutdown enters its fourth week, President Donald Trump is welcoming Senate Republicans for lunch at the White House. It's not for urgent talks on how to end the shutdown, but a celebratory display of unity as they refuse to negotiate on Democratic demands for health care funds. Trump is praising GOP leaders by name. But Senate Democrats are also expressing confidence in their strategy to keep voting against a House-passed bill that would reopen the government until Trump and other Republicans engage them. Democrats want to extend health care subsidies that are expiring. Trump says he'll discuss health care, but only after the government reopens.
Bolivia’s first conservative president-elect in 20 years, Rodrigo Paz, has injected a sharp note of realism into his plan for solving Bolivia’s worst economic crisis in four decades. His first news conference as president-elect Monday came a day after his surprise electoral victory signaled the end of decades of leftist rule. After years antipathy toward the United States under the Movement Toward Socialism party, Paz promised to rebuild relations with the U.S. and attract foreign investment to a country long locked out of international markets. Paz is a centrist senator who was never a nationally prominent figure until the campaign.
Preliminary results show that Rodrigo Paz, a centrist senator who was never a nationally prominent figure until now, has won Bolivia’s presidential election, galvanizing voters outraged by the country’s economic crisis and frustrated with 20 years of rule by the Movement Toward Socialism party. “The trend is irreversible,” said Óscar Hassenteufel, the president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. Early results show that Paz, 58, secured more than 54% of the vote. His rival, former right-wing President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, won just over 45% of the vote.
Former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton has been charged in a federal investigation into the potential mishandling of classified information. Court documents show he was charged Thursday with 18 counts of retention and transmission of national defense information. Bolton is accused of sharing more than 1,000 pages of information about government activities with relatives in diary-like notes about his time in government. The indictment also alleges that the personal email account Bolton used to share the information was hacked by an entity believed to be associated with Iran. Bolton denies wrongdoing.
Senate Democrats are rejecting for the 10th time a stopgap spending bill that would reopen the government. They are insisting they won’t back away from demands that Congress take up health care benefits. The repetition of votes on the funding bill has become a daily drumbeat in Congress. It underscores how intractable the situation has become as the vote has at times been the only item on the agenda for the Senate floor. Senate Republicans also held a vote to proceed to a bill to fund the Defense Department and possibly several other areas of government. But Democrats almost all voted against the procedure. The $6.5 billion tapped to ensure the military is paid covers one pay period.
Officials say one of the “most significant” airlifts in Alaska history is underway to evacuate hundreds of people from storm-devastated coastal towns. Officials announced the airlifts Wednesday. Some villages on the state’s southwest coast were inundated by the remnants of Typhoon Halong last weekend. The storm slammed into coastal communities, bringing record-high water levels in some areas. Many homes were swept away, some with people still inside. The storm at one point left about 1,500 residents in makeshift shelters. One person died and two are still missing.
House members' absence during the government shutdown is creating a political dilemma for Republican Speaker Mike Johnson and is testing his leadership. The Louisiana congressman sent members home three weeks ago, and they haven’t been back in working session since. In the intervening weeks, the government has shut down. President Donald Trump threatened a mass firing of federal workers. And Democrat Adelita Grijalva won a special congressional election in Arizona but has not been sworn in. Johnson says the House already did its job, passing a bill to fund the government. Johnson blames Democrats in the Senate, which is also controlled by Republicans. Democrats want health care funds for insurance subsidies that are set to expire.