government shutdown health care subsidies schumer.

FILE—Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., left, hold a news conference on the GOP reconciliation bill, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)

As Democrats prepare for a possible federal shutdown, their endgame is uncertain

Senate Democrats have struggled for months to counter President Donald Trump. Now, with a possible government shutdown looming, they’ve settled on a bold, one-step strategy if they don’t get significant concessions on health care before federal funding runs out Wednesday. That strategy is to vote to shut down. The plan is heartily endorsed by many of the party’s frustrated voters in the base and by activists. Less clear is what’s in the party playbook come that deadline. That’s when the administration could begin laying off hundreds or even thousands of federal workers, if it carries through with plans laid out by the White House this week.

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