1 of 4 | President Donald Trump takes questions in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. The president said he's meeting with OMB Director Russell Vought to discuss cuts to federal programs amid a government shutdown. Photo by Francis Chung/UPI | License Photo
Oct. 2 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump said he plans to meet with Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought on Thursday to determine which "Democrat agencies" to cut as the government shutdown enters its second day.
Trump said Democrats gave him an "unprecedented opportunity" to eliminate federal spending by declining to pass a Republican-backed short-term funding measure to keep the government open this week. Congress faced an Oct.1 deadline to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government, but couldn't secure enough votes from Democrats in the Senate.
At issue are subsidies for Affordable Care Act premiums set to expire in the new year. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said his party wouldn't support the stopgap legislation unless it included provisions extending the ADA subsidies.
The Trump administration has said it's against extending the ADA subsidies, falsely claiming undocumented immigrants are taking advantage of it. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for health insurance under the ADA, according to the federal healthcare.gov website.
