Posted on October 7, 2025
US President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that he was ready to negotiate with Democrats over healthcare subsidies to break a deadlock over the continued government shutdown, before returning to that offer.
Trump blamed the shutdown, which is entering its seventh day, on Democrats in a social media post, where he said they must end the shutdown before substantive negotiations can begin on health care policy, the key issue underlying the shutdown.
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“I'm happy to work with the Democrats on their failed health care policies, or anything else, but first they must allow our government to reopen. In fact, they should open our government tonight!” Trump wrote in a social post on Monday night.
Just hours earlier in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that he would like to “see a deal made for great health,” according to CBS News.
“We have a negotiation right now with the Democrats that could lead to very good things, and I'm talking about good things regarding health care,” Trump said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, one of the highest-ranking members of the Democratic Party, quickly denied that Democrats were in talks with Trump.
“This is not true,” Schumer said in a statement shared on X.
“If Republicans are finally ready to sit down and do something about health care for American families, Democrats will be there, ready to make it happen,” Schumer added.
This is not true.
For months, Democrats have been demanding that Trump and Republicans come to the table and work with us to deliver lower costs and better health care for the American people.
If Republicans are finally ready to sit down and do something on health care for…
– Chuck Schumer (@senschumer) October 6, 2025
Trump's comments came as the Senate on Monday night again failed to pass a Republican-sponsored bill to extend government spending through the end of November.
The 52-42 vote was eight votes short of the 60-vote threshold needed to pass the bill, according to Senate vote records.
Democrats have a minority in both chambers of Congress, and are trying to use the spending bill to force Republicans to negotiate on critical health care spending.
Democrats want Congress to extend expired subsidies before the U.S. health enrollment period begins in November and reverse cuts to Medicaid assistance for low-income and disabled U.S. residents.
A Democratic version of the spending bill that extends funding through Oct. 31 and makes subsidies permanent also fails 45-55 Monday in a vote along party lines.
The Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan nonprofit focused on health care policy, predicts that once the subsidies expire, health care premiums “will more than double what subsidized enrollees currently pay annually in premiums.”
