Ricketts says there’s 'nothing to negotiate' with Democrats as government shutdown continues

As the federal government shutdown enters its fifth week, Sen. Pete Ricketts said Republicans are still waiting on Democrats to pass a continuing resolution.

The resolution, which has been voted down in the Senate 13 times, would continue government funding at its previous levels through Nov. 21.

Tax credits for people who get health insurance through the Affordable Care Act are set to expire at the end of the year, and Democrats have said they won’t vote to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate an extension of the credits.

Speaking with the press Wednesday, Ricketts said conversations about health insurance won’t happen until after the government is reopened.

“This is the same Biden budget that the Democrats agreed to four times already over the last 19 months, so they’re complete hypocrites by not voting for it now,” he said. “There's nothing to negotiate, because they should just vote to open up the government.”

Ricketts said there are currently conversations happening behind the scenes, but official negotiations and debates will have to wait.

It would take 60 votes in the Senate to overcome a filibuster and pass a continuing resolution. The Senate’s 52 Republicans have been joined by as many as two Democrats and one independent, but they still need to find an additional five votes.

Invoking the nuclear option to eliminate the Senate filibuster, Ricketts said, is not on the table.

“We have been in the past the minority party and will be again in the future at some point,” Ricketts said. “This is an institutional part of who the Senate is.”

Earlier this week, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services announced it would pause the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits at the direction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture due to the shutdown.

Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, introduced a bill to keep SNAP funded, which has 10 additional cosponsors, nine of whom are Republicans.

Asked whether he would support a bill to save SNAP funding, Ricketts said it’s up to Democrats to stop their obstruction and reiterated that they should vote for the continuing resolution.

“It doesn't matter what we do, the Democrats are blocking it,” he said.

A group of Democratic state attorneys general and governors are suing the Trump administration for not using a contingency fund or other nutrition programs to cover the cost of SNAP. Ricketts declined to weigh in on the administration’s decision and lawsuit directly but said he would let the process play out in court.

“Originally, the administration said that those funds would be available,” Ricketts said. “My understanding is now they're saying they are not legally allowed to and there's a case about this in the courts, and of course, we’ll adjudicate the matter.”

Ricketts said it’s now likely that a continuing resolution, if passed, will have to be extended beyond Nov. 21 to allow the Senate to finish its appropriations work.