WASHINGTON – The federal government shutdown entered Day Seven on Tuesday, with still no deal in sightafter Senate Democrats for the fifth time rejecteda Republican-backed bill to fund the government through Nov. 21 But in a significant shift,President Donald Trumpis nowexpressing opennessto one of Democrats' main policy demands – that expiring subsides in the Affordable Care Act be extended. "If we made the right deal, I'd make a deal. Sure," Trump said Monday when asked by a reporter whether he's willing to make a deal with Democrats on the expiring Obamacare subsidies for lower-income families. The White House and Republican leaders in Congress have previously said they won't negotiate health care policy under after the government is reopened. But Trump said he's started talking to Democrats about the subject. "We have a negotiation going on with the Democrats that could lead to good things," Trump said. "And I'm talking about good things with regard to health care." People wait in line to enter the Federal Building in Los Angeles, California on October 1, 2025, where services are experiencing significant disruptions due to the federal government shutdown, as essential workers continue working without pay and non-essential federal workers are furloughed.With the government out of money after President Donald Trump and lawmakers failed to agree on a deal to keep the lights on, many federal departments and agencies have been closed since midnight. See what remains open and what has closed. Trump said some furloughed federal workers "don't deserve" to receive backpay during the federal government shutdown. "It depends on who we're talking about," Trump said Tuesday in response to a question from a reporter on backpay. "I can tell you this, the Democrats have put a lot of people in great risk and jeopardy, but it really depends on who you're talking about." Trump added: "For the most part, we're going to take care of our people. There are some people that really don't deserve to be taken care of, and we'll take care of them in a different way." Trump's remarks come as a new legal analysis from the White House says the 750,000 employees furloughed during the shutdown are not entitled to back pay when they return, an administration official told USA TODAY. If the administration chooses to deny federal workers their pay, the White House could use the move as additional pressure for Democrats in Congress to join Republicans to fund the government. Democrats have been withholding their support as they seek policy demands related to health care. --Joey Garrison A one-year extension of Obamacare subsidies is not a viable shutdown off-ramp for Democrats, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, said Tuesday. "It's a nonstarter," he said. Democrats have repeatedly pushed for a permanent extension of improved health insurance subsidies for low-income families through the Affordable Care Act. The tax credits, which Congress enhanced amid the pandemic, are set to expire at the end of the year. "That Democrats are going to go along with a one-year extension from a group of people that just extended permanent tax breaks from their billionaire donors is a laughable proposition," Jeffries said. "Permanent extension, and let's go from there in terms of a negotiation." --Zachary Schermele Citing a "new legal analysis," House SpeakerMike Johnsonsaid Tuesday that some legal analysts believe furloughed federal workers aren't entitled to back pay."If that is true, that should turn up the urgency and the necessity of the Democrats doing the right thing here," he said.He didn't specifically say what legal opinion he was referencing, but it came after similar arguments were made in a draft memo from the White House's Office of Management and Budget.Johnson stressed he hopes federal workers get back pay, and President Trump has told him he feels the same way. --Zachary Schermele As the federal government furloughs thousands of workers amid the government shutdown, a draft memo from the White House says the employees are not entitled to back pay when they return, according to an administration official. The threat of withholding pay from federal workers ups the stakes in the showdown between congressional Democrats and the White House and congressional Republicans over funding the government, although it's not clear if the Trump administration would follow through. Axios first reported on the White House draft memo. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed in the shutdown. Their total daily compensation is around $400 million. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management released a memo in September on shutdown furloughs stating workers would get paid. "After the lapse in appropriations has ended, employees who were required to perform excepted work during the lapse will receive retroactive pay for those work periods," the OPM memo states. A 2019 law signed by Trump states that federal workers who are furloughed during a lapse in government funding "shall be paid for the period of the lapse." The law states that it applies to any government funding lapse after Dec. 22, 2018. PresidentDonald Trump'smoves to slash the size of the federal government earlier this year were already afocal point of Virginia's gubernatorial contest. The Old Dominion State has more federal workers than most and Democrats believe those simmering frustrations coupled with theongoing government shutdownthat began Oct. 1 will boil over in their favor as thousands more are now furloughed, which could slow critical services or result inmass firings. "Our money's kind of on hold. It's painful," Chris Witter, 54, a stay-at-home father of two 16-year-old girls whose wife works for the federal government. He blamed the shutdown on Republicans, andpolling shows most Americans agree. The race between Democrat Abigail Spanberger and Republican Winsome Earle-Sears was already an election many view as the first national referendum on Trump's agenda, but the shutdown has sent the race into overdrive. −Phillip M. Bailey Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Trump supporter who calls herself "not a fan" of Obamacare, but she joined Democrats in calling for an extension of federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act to keep health insurance costs down.Greene, R-Georgia,said in a social media post Oct. 6that her adult children's insurance premiums for 2026 are poised to "DOUBLE, along with all the wonderful families and hard-working people in my district," if the tax credits expire. Senate Democrats have refused to reopen the government since Oct. 1 by arguing that Medicaid funding cuts should be restored and subsidies for Obamacare extended. Republicans who control Congress contend the Medicaid cuts remove undocumented immigrants and force able-bodied citizens to work for Medicaid benefits. Greene doesn't seek to restore Medicaid cuts. Trump and GOP congressional leaders say they can negotiate Obamacare subsidies after the government reopens and before the funding expires Dec. 31. "I'm carving my own lane," said Greene, who joined Congress in 2021 a decade after lawmakers created Obamacare. "And I'm absolutely disgusted that health insurance premiums will DOUBLE if the tax credits expire this year." Trump did not identify the Democrats who are part of the discussions. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer rejected Trump's claims that negotiations over health care are taking place between the president and Democrats. More:Trump says he's open to striking deal with Democrats on extending health care subsidies "Trump's claim isn't true — but if he's finally ready to work with Democrats, we'll be at the table," Schumer said in a statement. The senator added: "If President Trump and Republicans are finally ready to sit down and get something done on healthcare for American families, Democrats will be there — ready to make it happen." Although about 750,000 federal workers have been placed on furloughs during the shutdown, PresidentDonald Trumphasn't followed though on his warnings of mass layoffs across the federal workforce. The White House last week said layoffs were "imminent." Russell Vought, the White House director of Management and Budget, told Republican lawmakers last Wednesday on Oct. 1 that reductions in force would begin in "a day or two." But so far, it's been all threats and no action. Trump on Monday said mass layoffs remain on the table. "It could," Trump said when asked whether another defeat in the Senate of Republicans' funding bill could lead to layoffs. "At some point it will." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Government shutdown enters Day 7 as Trump signals shift: Live updates
