Trump claims ‘very big victory’ as US government shutdown vote nears

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump declared victory on Nov 11 as an effort to end the longest-ever US government shutdown headed to a final vote and rival Democrats tore themselves apart over the deal.

The House of Representatives is set to vote on Nov 12
on a spending Bill to solve the six-week stand-off, after eight Democrats broke ranks in the Senate on Nov 10 to side with Mr Trump’s Republicans.

During a Veterans Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery, Mr Trump broke off to congratulate Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

“Congratulations to you and to John and to everybody on a very big victory,” Mr Trump said as he spotted Mr Johnson in the audience.

“We’re opening up our country – it should have never been closed,” added Mr Trump, bucking US presidential tradition by using a ceremonial event to score political points.

Mr Trump said later that he expected the Republican-controlled House to approve the Bill to fund the government through January. “Only people that hate our country want to see it not open,” he told ESPN.

‘Serious calculations’

Top Democrats have vowed to oppose the Bill to fund the government, but it is likely to pass the House as it needs only a simple majority, which Republicans narrowly have.

From the start, Mr Trump had piled pressure on Democrats by letting the shutdown be as punishing as possible and refusing to negotiate on their demands on health insurance.

A million federal workers went unpaid, food benefits for low-income Americans came under threat, and air travellers faced thousands of cancellations and delays ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Nov 11 that the chaos could get worse by the weekend if the shutdown persists, with air traffic controllers unable to be paid.

“You’re going to have airlines that make serious calculations about whether they continue to fly, full stop,” Mr Duffy told reporters at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

Polls have shown that voters increasingly blamed Mr Trump’s party as the shutdown dragged on past its 40th day.

But it was the Democrats who caved and gave Republicans the extra votes they needed under Senate rules on Nov 10, without securing the concessions they wanted.

Democrat rift

The deal has split Democrats, with many senior figures saying they should have held out for the extension of health insurance subsidies at the heart of the shutdown battle.

“Pathetic,” California Governor Gavin Newsom, widely seen as a Democratic presidential front runner in 2028, posted on social media platform X.

Despite opposing the Bill vocally and voting against it, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has faced calls from some lawmakers to step down for failing to corral his senators.

For Democrats, the wavering was especially galling as it came just days after election wins that put Mr Trump on the back foot for the first time since his return to the White House.

Democratic wins in New York City, New Jersey and Virginia, in particular, highlighted the issue of affordability, a weak spot for billionaire Trump and the Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

But Senate Republicans have promised Democrats a vote on health insurance, with millions of Americans set to see their “Obamacare” costs double without an extension of the subsidies.

The healthcare issue has itself threatened to cause a rift in Mr Trump’s Make America Great Again coalition.

On Nov 10, Mr Trump said one-time ally Marjorie Taylor Greene had “lost her way” after the lawmaker made critical comments, including that she was “disgusted” that premiums could double for her own grown-up children. AFP