Some Republicans say it’s time for Trump to get involved in the shutdown standoff, even as Republican leaders reject the idea

Republican leaders have stuck to a simple position in their confrontation with Democrats over government funding: no negotiations before the shutdown ends.

But as the impasse continues, some rank-and-file Republicans are beginning to wonder whether it’s time to change tactics.

Several Republican lawmakers have suggested that President Donald Trump take a more direct role in resolving the shutdown in recent days, including possibly opening negotiations with Democrats if that’s what’s needed to end the standoff.

“If he gets involved, he can move it,” Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville said of Trump. “He can make a decision on what we do.”

“We absolutely need him,” Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey told CNN. “He has the strength and the skills to make it happen. The speaker is doing a great job, but we need Trump.”

The turmoil within the Republican conference comes as both camps have continued to entrench themselves, leaving no clear path to reopening government without a major upheaval in the dynamic on Capitol Hill.

And it speaks to a growing unease in parts of the Republican Party over the shutdown’s detrimental impact on the country and the question of which party will ultimately bear responsibility — even as Trump and Republican leaders project confidence that their strategy will prevail.

“Ultimately, to get the ball rolling and get this thing out of the bubble, President Trump is going to have to get involved,” said Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia. “That’s probably what will have to happen.”

Trump has not spoken with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries since the government shutdown a few weeks ago, a White House official confirmed earlier this week. The two Democratic leaders announced Tuesday that they would submit a new request for a meeting with the president.

Yet so far, Trump has chosen to avoid day-to-day maneuvering despite his self-fashioned image as a dealmaker, tasking House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune with managing the shutdown.

They have so far refused to enter into negotiations with Democrats, vowing not to bow to demands for health care concessions in exchange for government funding. Johnson, who has remained in regular contact with the president, also rejected the idea of ​​involving Trump more directly.

“He (Trump) is not going to negotiate with the Democrats, who have taken the American people hostage. We are not going to pay a ransom to reopen the government,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday.

A frustrated Thune insisted on CNN on Tuesday that there was no “Plan B” to end the shutdown, signaling that Republican leaders would continue to move forward and pressure Democrats to simply accept the House’s short-term funding bill.

The prolonged standoff represents a departure from previous shutdowns, where funding disruptions typically caused a scramble on both sides to reach an agreement. During the last long lockdown — a 35-day standoff during Trump’s first term sparked by his insistence on funding a border wall — lawmakers repeatedly floated proposals to break the impasse, while Trump went so far as to cancel a vacation trip to Mar-a-Lago to stay in Washington amid the crisis.

But this time around, Republican and Democratic leaders have so far found little reason to argue – each instead resorting to trying to outlast the other. There are no weekend meetings or meaningful negotiations. And the House hasn’t even been in session for more than a month, with Johnson vowing not to bring the House back until Democrats are ready to concede.

Trump hosted Senate Republicans at the White House on Tuesday for a lunch billed in part as an effort to encourage continued solidarity, predicting in a speech that Democrats would ultimately lose politically.

“They are obstructionists,” he said. “The reason they do it is because we’re doing so well.”

In conversations with senators over a meal of cheeseburgers, Trump indicated he was willing to talk with Democrats, and he later reiterated that position in remarks from the Oval Office, saying he had only one “little caveat”: only when the government opened its doors.

This stated position is consistent with arguments echoed by congressional Republicans over the past three weeks.

“He’s open to a conversation if they have something substantial to offer, but the idea that they can hold the government hostage during a shutdown is not going to work,” said Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota, as senators returned from the White House, MAGA hats and other White House memorabilia in their hands.

Trump also touted the opportunity the shutdown gave him to seize greater authority over the government’s vast operations and workforce, boasting of deep federal staffing cuts and funding reductions aimed primarily at increasing pressure on Democrats. White House officials have sought to lay off more than 4,000 government workers while halting billions of dollars earmarked for infrastructure and energy projects in Democratic states and districts.

“They’re not going to get a lot of things back,” Trump said of the budget cuts, later adding that “maybe indirectly they’re doing some good” by giving the administration an excuse to go after undesirable parts of the government.

The White House telegraphed deeper cuts in the coming days, with budget chief Russell Vought saying he hopes to lay off more than 10,000 federal workers in total. Meanwhile, Trump has redirected funds to pay the military and law enforcement officers, in moves that have effectively allowed crime and immigration initiatives, which are central to his agenda, to move forward unimpeded.

Yet while Trump has welcomed this newfound leeway, some on Capitol Hill have grown increasingly impatient with the impasse. And with Democrats showing no further signs of backing down, they have argued that Trump may be the only one who can exert the direct pressure needed to force a resolution.

Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley went so far as to encourage Democrats to start contacting Trump directly. “He would respond to anyone. They could call him. He would respond. I mean, he’s very approachable,” he said Monday.

Democrats also called on Trump to reconnect with Capitol Hill, as part of their bid to secure an extension of the enhanced Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year.

“We know that House and Senate Republicans don’t do anything without permission from their boss, Donald J. Trump. And the reason there have been no negotiations – zero negotiations – since the Republicans shut down the government is because Donald Trump clearly wants the government shut down,” Jeffries said, arguing that “Trump absolutely needs to get involved” and “stand aside.”

But despite growing pressure from both sides, Republican leaders have indicated no willingness to budge.

“I don’t know what there is to negotiate,” Thune said at the White House. “Open the government first. »

Within the West Wing, officials have so far projected a similar resolve. They seized on recent polls showing subtle shifts among voters, who blame Democrats for the gridlock. And as Democrats have begun pushing for direct negotiations with Trump, their aides have interpreted that as a sign that the party’s position is becoming increasingly untenable — and further confirmation that there is now no reason to grant them an easy way out.

“This is just wishful thinking on the part of Democrats because they are in disarray and their shutdown strategy has led them into a trap,” a White House official said. “Our position has not changed in terms of what we want and our feelings on the government shutdown.”