Gun to our head: Trump non-committal on talks as US shutdown continues

Washington, Oct 10 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) The US government shutdown has entered its ninth day as Republicans and Democrats continue to blame each other.

US President Donald Trump remained non-committal over possible talks with the Democrats to reopen the government, saying, “We don’t want to have a gun held to our head.”

“I see the deal just getting extended as we continue to talk, but we’re willing to pay because we’re paying, it’s very simple. I think that’ll get worked out, but we want to get back before we do this. We don’t want to have a gun held to our head. We don’t like that, and the public doesn’t like it either. So we want to get back. And I think it’s going to work out. I think it’s going to work out very well,” he added.

Vice-President JD Vance also blamed the Democrats for the suspension of payment to military troops due to the shutdown.

“We are trying to figure out how to pay our troops, because Chuck Schumer is shutting down the US government. There are veterans benefits that are going to suffer. There are Americans that are going to suffer because Chuck Schumer refuses to do his job,” he said.

Military and civilian staff are not being paid during the shutdown, and active duty troops are all set to miss their paycheck on October 15.

The Republicans have accused Democrats of demanding healthcare subsidies for illegal immigrants, which the Democrats reject as a lie peddled by the Trump administration.

Democrats say they are asking to reverse the healthcare cuts for American citizens in the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which was passed earlier this year.

Over 200 flights were delayed at two Chicago airports on Thursday. Earlier in the week, flights were delayed at airports in New York, Denver and Los Angeles due to shortages of air traffic controllers. Staffing shortages are also being reported in Washington, DC, Newark in New Jersey, and Jacksonville in Florida.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy continued to hold Democrats responsible for the crisis.

“Air traffic controllers need to come to work. But I understand why they’re frustrated. @SenSchumer is putting illegal immigrants over their paycheck,” he posted on X.

Around 13,000 air traffic controllers are forced to work without pay, and many are not reporting for work. The DoT has halted additional activities like hiring and training of air traffic controllers.

Duffy announced on Monday that a federal program to subsidise air travel to rural areas would run out of funds by the end of the week if the shutdown persists.

“There’s many small communities across the country that will now no longer have the resources to make sure they have air service in their communities,” he said.

Around two-thirds of the employees of the National Park Service, the federal agency that manages national parks, have also been furloughed during the shutdown, affecting tourists sites such as caves in Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona and White Sands National Park in New Mexico.

In Washington, DC, the Library of Congress, the National Archives Museum, the Washington Monument and the National Arboretum have been shut, and tours of the Capitol Building and the Pentagon have been suspended.

The Smithsonian Institution’s museums and National Zoo in Washington announced last week that they would remain open to the public until October 11.

This is the first US government shutdown in seven years, as the last one happened under Trump 1.0 and lasted for 35 days – the longest in history.

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