Shutdown Day 23: Stalemate continues with Trump leaving for Asia

WASHINGTON — The federal government shutdown will stretch into next week after the Senate recessed on Thursday without passing a funding deal.

The Senate is set to reconvene Monday afternoon, but efforts to reach a deal likely will be delayed as President Donald Trump embarks Friday on a weeklong trip to Asia.

Trump, asked at the White House whether he believed a deal could be reached before he left for his trip, said he wasn’t sure. He continued to denounce congressional Democrats for withholding their support from a GOP-backed short-term spending bill as they seek guarantees of an extension to health care tax credits.

"I think the Democrats have gone totally crazy," Trump said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) took aim at Trump in a Senate floor speech for not negotiating a reopening deal before his trip.

"He's flying off yet again to another corner of the world while people's premiums are set to skyrocket here at home," Schumer said.

Two new bills aimed at paying federal government workers — one led by Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, the other by Democratic Sens. Gary Peters of Michigan and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland — each failed to pass in the Senate. But lawmakers from both sides of the aisle signaled a willingness to work over the weekend on compromise legislation.

Johnson, the lead sponsor of a failed bill to pay essential government workers who have been ordered to work despite the pay lapse, told reporters on Capitol Hill he had "great conversations" with a number of Senate Democrats on the issue. He said he was open to Democrat-backed provisions to also pay furloughed federal workers.

"I don’t want to completely constrain the president, but I don’t mind making sure that Congress has a say in this as well," Johnson told reporters.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), when asked about the likelihood of reaching a deal on paying federal workers, told reporters: "We’ll see. I mean if there’s headway made over the weekend and obviously we’re coordinating with Ron and his team and we’ll see where it goes."

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.