Shutdown Day 21: Trump says he won't be 'extorted'

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump hosted Senate Republicans at the White House on Tuesday — the 21st day of the federal government shutdown — and signaled that he would not reopen talks with congressional Democrats on the issue of health care subsidies unless they vote for a short-term spending bill.

"We will not be extorted on this crazy plot of theirs," Trump said at a Rose Garden luncheon as he railed against Democrats who are seeking an extension of health care tax credits in exchange for support of a stopgap spending bill.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries continued to press Trump for a meeting to negotiate an extension of the subsidies, arguing that open enrollment for millions of Americans is set to begin Nov. 1 and premiums are expected to increase without the subsidies in place.

"The decisions made or not in the next 10 days will determine whether working families can afford their health care next year," Schumer said at a news conference on Capitol Hill. "And Americans are desperately looking to Republicans, the party in the majority, to do something about it."

Schumer told reporters he and Jeffries reached out to Trump directly on Tuesday and are willing to meet "any time, any place" before Trump leaves Friday for a weeklong trip to Asia.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), speaking to reporters after the meeting with Trump, said Republicans would not engage in negotiations over the subsidies until Democrats provide the needed votes to pass the short-term spending bill.

"People keep saying ‘negotiate’ — negotiate what?" Thune said, adding he plans to schedule another floor vote on the bill on Wednesday. So far, the bill has failed to pass the chamber 11 times.

 House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who also joined Thune in meeting with Trump, wrote in a post on X that Trump "confirmed he is ready and willing for the three of us to meet with Leader Jeffries and Sen. Schumer as soon as Schumer reopens the government."

Amid all the partisan fighting, Reps. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) and Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) are set to appear at a “Pancakes & Policy” forum sponsored by the Huntington Chamber of Commerce at the Cinema Arts Centre on Friday, according to a flyer on the chamber’s website.

Newsday's Billy House contributed to this story.

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.