Federal Government Shutdown Extends into Second Week Amid Political Stalemate

"...quiet concerns within Trump’s orbit..."

"...political complexity has surprised operatives on both sides..."

"...stalemate has so far generated little in the way of high-volume outrage..."

"...voters seemingly willing to wait out the drama..."

"...financial markets already numb to the day-to-day chaos in Washington..."

"...White House officials trumpeted early polling..."

"...momentum..."

"...blunted some of that momentum..."

"...political pressure felt by Democrats..."

"...broaden their messaging..."

"...White House officials remain confident they will ultimately prevail..."

"...officials are now girding for a prolonged messaging war..."

"...could reverberate into the fall..."

"...Democrats are privately planning for a shutdown that could last through mid October or later..."

"...doubling down on accusations..."

"...effectively chip away at their public support..."

"...marshaled support..."

"...turning the tide against Democrats..."

"...double-barreled message..."

"...urging Democrats to agree to a straightforward funding extension..."

"...watch as their voters suffer the fallout..."

"...threat of widespread cuts to the federal workforce..."

"...alarmed some Republican lawmakers and operatives..."

"...immediately give away the high ground..."

"...no appetite to back down..."

"...little belief that the standoff can end without Democrats being convinced to give in..."

"...sign of their confidence..."

"...House GOP leaders have even decided not to bring the chamber back to DC until the Senate Democrats cave..."

"...pushed Trump to take full advantage of the shutdown..."

"...advance a range of priorities..."

"...arguing that it’s simultaneously an opportunity to push blame for those moves onto Democrats..."

"...prospect of such unprecedented action has unnerved some Republicans..."

"...potential for short-term political blowback..."

"...worth making good on Trump’s longer-term campaign promises..."

"...he doesn’t care about downside..."

"...he doesn’t really give a damn about criticism..."

"...unpredictable political repercussions..."

"...fresh urgency..."

"...looming expiration..."

"...issue that Republicans increasingly worry could do lasting damage to the party if it’s not defused..."

"...Democratic lawmakers have made the subsidies a central element of their shutdown demands..."

"...issuing warnings of double digit-percentage premium increases..."

"...bolstered support for their decision to shutter the government..."

"...White House officials have privately debated options for extending the subsidies since well before the shutdown..."

"...aides to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson have also signaled awareness that they need to resolve the issue or risk steep cost increases for millions of people..."

"...likely to set up a brutal intraparty fight..."

"...House Republicans in particular being asked to vote for the first time ever to uphold a piece of Obamacare..."

"...some conservative lawmakers have already signaled opposition to supporting an extension..."

"...others are expected to demand sharply divisive provisions..."

"...contingent of Senate Republicans have already held private discussions with Democrats..."

"...search of a solution..."

"...early talks centering on a possible two-year extension of the subsidies..."

"...includes significant reforms aimed at limiting its eligibility and total price tag..."

"...we have to do something on it..."

"...noting that many in his state will see their premiums nearly doubled..."

"...that’s a lot of Missourians who will not be able to afford health care..."

"...sign of the subsidies’ growing political salience..."

"...White House officials have sought to make clear in recent days that the administration is willing to start bipartisan negotiations on a health care deal once the shutdown ends..."

"...no clear political impetus for the stalemate to end..."

"...few could say with confidence anymore when that might be..."

"...I think they were under the assumption the Democrats were going to cave quicker..."

"...people have gotten used to these things..."

"...they’re like, oh, that’s a Washington thing..."

"...they’ll solve it, they’ll figure it out..."