Michigan's congressional delegation remains divided along partisan lines over ending the federal government shutdown.
It's now day 6 of the shutdown, and the Democratic minority leader has challenged the Republican House speaker to a televised debate on the impasse over reopening the federal government. House Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' challenge as "theatrics." Mutual trust between President Donald Trump and the Democrats is elusive as leaders in both parties bet that public sentiment will pressure the other side to cave.
U.S. Rep Kristen McDonald Rivet, a Democrat from Bay City, accuses Republicans of not being serious when they dismiss the urgency around renewing subsidies to cover health insurance costs for millions of Americans before open enrollment begins next month.
"Well, we'll get to that later. You struggle through that now. You worry about whether or not you can pay your bills at the end of the month. And we're going to get to that later," McDonald Rivet said, mocking Republicans, "It's frankly just tone-deaf of what most people in the country are going through."
More than half a million Michiganders used the Affordable Care Act marketplace for their health insurance last year.
U.S. Rep Lisa McClain represents the Thumb, and is part of the Republican House Leadership. She says this is a "funding fight," not a fight over health care.
"We need to continue to root out waste, fraud and abuse. And make sure our health care system works for the people who need it most and keep the premiums affordable," said McClain, "(But) in order to do that, we must open the government."
President Donald Trump said Monday that he would be open to striking a deal on Affordable Care Act subsidies that are at the heart of the government shutdown fight.
But the president also noted that "billions and billions" of dollars are being wasted, nodding to arguments from conservatives who do not want the health subsidies extended.
"We are speaking with the Democrats," Trump said, adding "some very good things" could happen.
Trump, who had been teasing layoffs for the last several days, said that if a Senate vote later Monday to reopen the government fails, "it could" trigger mass firings.
"It could," he said. "At some point it will."
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