President Trump slammed Democrats as “crazed lunatics” who have “lost their way,” blaming them for a government shutdown poised to become the longest in history with no deal in sight. But he offered no immediate plan to address health care costs, a sticking point for Democrats who want Republicans to agree to extend government subsidies for the more than 20 million Americans with Obamacare.
The shutdown began a month ago and is just a few days shy of the 35-day record set by the 2018-2019 shutdown, which took place during Mr. Trump’s first term in office.
Furloughed federal workers are going unpaid as the shutdown continues. Active-duty military personnel, as well as National Guard who are currently deployed, must carry out their assigned duties with their pay delayed until the shutdown is over.
The prolonged shutdown also puts millions of Americans at risk of missing their November food stamp benefits.
Mr. Trump places the blame for the shutdown at the feet of Democrats. He said his plan to end the shutdown is to “keep voting.”
“The Republicans are voting almost unanimously to end it, and the Democrats keep voting against ending it,” Mr. Trump said. “You know, they’ve never had this. This has happened like 18 times before. The Democrats always voted for an extension, always saying, ‘Give us an extension, we’ll work it out.'”
Without federal subsidies, the cost of insurance under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, could double. Mr. Trump called Obamacare “terrible” and said “it’s bad health care at far too high a price.”
“We should fix that. Fix it. And we can fix it with the Democrats,” he said. “All they have to do is let the country open and we’ll fix it.”
Mr. Trump has talked about fixing the health care system for years, including during his first term in office.
“We almost did it. We were one vote short,” he said.
That was in 2017, when Senate Republicans failed by one vote to partially repeal Obamacare. There has never been an agreed-upon plan to replace it, and Mr. Trump did not offer a plan in his interview with 60 Minutes.
Mr. Trump helped end previous government shutdowns by bringing members of Congress to the White House for discussions.
“I’m not going to do it by being extorted by the Democrats who have lost their way,” Mr. Trump said. “There’s something wrong with these people.”
Mr. Trump said he believes that Democrats will eventually capitulate and vote to end the shutdown.
“And if they don’t vote, that’s their problem,” he said.
Mr. Trump said he thinks “we should do the nuclear option … ending the filibuster.” It’s something Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said he’s unwilling to do.
“The Republicans have to get tougher. If we end the filibuster, we can do exactly what we want,” Mr. Trump said. “We’re not going to lose power.”
Mr. Trump discussed the shutdown during his first interview with 60 Minutes in five years. It’s his first since he sued and then settled with CBS parent company Paramount over a 2024 interview with then Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The settlement did not include an apology.
Mr. Trump’s wide-ranging conversation with Norah O’Donnell also covered China, Venezuela, tariffs and U.S. immigration policy.
