As the government shutdown stretches into its second week, President Donald Trump has taken matters into his own hands, enlisting one of his closest Senate allies to open a direct channel to Democrats, Politico reported Tuesday.
The report noted that Trump’s decision to personally “deputize” a senator for backchannel discussions caught GOP leaders off guard, further complicating a fractured Republican strategy that has struggled to present a united front.
According to the report, “the administration has informally deputized Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to serve as a conduit to Democrats. Asked about the arrangement, Mullin said, ‘I don’t have a badge,’ and otherwise declined to discuss whether he was briefing the administration on bipartisan Senate talks.”
“I would like to see a deal made for great health care,” Trump said Monday in the Oval Office, adding that he had been in talks with Democrats.
But hours later, he reversed course on his Truth Social platform, posting: “I am happy to work with the Democrats on their Failed Healthcare Policies, or anything else, but first they must allow our Government to re-open.”
The conflicting signals prompted a scramble among GOP leaders.
The report further noted that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters Tuesday he had spoken with Trump “at length” and reiterated that reopening the government should come first.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), meanwhile, acknowledged “ongoing conversations” but showed signs of frustration with the president’s messaging.
According to the report, behind closed doors, aides say the White House and Capitol Hill Republicans have repeatedly clashed over strategy, often without coordination.
Much of the tension is said to stem from hardline tactics pushed by Trump’s budget chief, Russ Vought, who has championed measures targeting blue-state spending and federal worker protections — gambits that have not moved Democrats but have drawn GOP leaders into awkward defensive postures.
A new memo from the White House budget office on federal worker back pay is the latest example.
Both Johnson and Thune had previously supported guaranteed pay for furloughed employees, yet the administration appeared to waver.
Asked about it Tuesday, Trump offered a murky answer: “For the most part, we’re going to take care of our people, but for some people they don’t deserve to be taken care of.” The report noted that Thune, visibly caught off guard, admitted he wasn’t familiar with the memo’s legal rationale but added, “All you have to do to prevent any federal employee from not getting paid is to open up the government.”.
The GOP appears split over how to handle both the shutdown and the broader health care debate,.
Johnson and Thune have pressed to delay health care negotiations until the government is open, while Trump’s interest in negotiating with Democrats — particularly over Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire — has opened a new front in the standoff.
“The Administration will not negotiate while the American people are being held hostage by Democrats,” Jackson said.
Republicans had hoped to make Democrats bear the political cost of the shutdown, especially those in the Senate who are blocking the House-passed stopgap bill.
“If you’re Republicans, you have to get Dems to blink first,” a source close to the White House told the outlet.
But Trump and Vought have largely ignored that plan, opting instead to pursue broader political goals — from punishing the federal bureaucracy to letting premiums spike in Democratic-leaning districts.
That approach has only widened the rift within the GOP, with conservatives like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) criticizing leadership for ignoring skyrocketing healthcare costs.
“Not a single Republican in leadership talked to us about this or has given us a plan to help Americans deal with their health insurance premiums DOUBLING!!!” Greene posted on the social platform X.
Johnson, attempting to downplay the criticism, responded: “She’s probably not read that in on some of that, because it’s still been sort of in the silos of the people who specialize in those issues.”
Democrats, meanwhile, have seized on the Republican dysfunction.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer read Greene’s post aloud on the Senate floor, saying, “Hold on to your hats: I think this is the first time I’ve said this, but on this issue, Rep. Greene said it perfectly.”
Despite the GOP disarray, some quiet bipartisan efforts are underway in the Senate to find a path forward. Lawmakers are considering potential compromises tied to ACA subsidies and unresolved budget issues.
But with Trump now actively engaging in his own strategy and Republicans still at odds over the next move, a resolution remains elusive.
One Senate Republican, who was not named, told Politico: “They are absolutely struggling to figure out how they are going to get out of this.”
Reprinted with permission from Alternet
