WASHINGTON — Democrats emerged from a two-hour closed-door meeting on Thursday projecting a unified front in their fight for lower health care costs, likely ensuring the longest-ever government shutdown will drag on into the weekend and possibly beyond.
“We had a really good conversation where we know what our mission is to try to take the message from Tuesday that people want us to fight to keep costs down and we want to stay together,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said, referring to his party’s big electoral victories across the country that have rattled Republicans, including President Donald Trump.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), a key moderate involved in bipartisan talks to reopen the government, told HuffPost he didn’t expect a funding deal in the near term.
“I think we’re very unified on a number of items, and we’re going to continue to work going forward,” Peters said of his caucus.
Republicans had been waiting to see whether Democrats would agree to their offer to reopen the government that included the promise of a future vote on extending enhanced subsidies for millions of Americans who are enrolled in the Affordable Care Act. Some moderate Democrats have seemed open to that proposal, engaging in talks with rank-and-file Republican senators over the past several weeks.
