By Thérèse Boudreaux
The Center Square

Despite the government shutdown dragging on for three weeks, Republican leaders remain convinced that Democrats will eventually fold on their health care demands and vote to restore federal funding.

The government shuttered Oct. 1 after Democratic Senators refused to provide the seven necessary votes for Republicans’ Continuing Resolution that would extend federal funding levels until Nov. 21.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said his party will provide the necessary votes only if Republicans promise to renew the pandemic-era expansion of the Obamacare Premium Tax Credit, set to expire Dec. 30.

Republicans have refused to make such guarantees without long discussion and accused Democrats of turning the normally bipartisan government funding process into a “political game.”

During a White House luncheon Tuesday, President Donald Trump called the shutdown “a pointless act of partisan spite” from Democrat “obstructionists.”

“From the beginning, our message has been very simple: we will not be extorted on this crazy plot of theirs. They’ve never done this before, nobody has – you always vote for an extension,” Trump said. “Today I’m calling on every Senate Democrat to stop the madness.”

Senate Democrats have so far voted down the House-passed CR eleven times, and negotiations are currently at a standstill as both sides try to wait each other out.

“We have offered them several off-ramps now. The Democrats want something that’s totally untenable,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters later. “People keep saying, ‘Negotiate!’ – Negotiate what? I don’t know what that is right now. The government needs to open up, and then we’re happy to sit down and talk about any other issues the Democrats want to talk about.”

Thune indicated that Republicans will continue with their current strategy of forcing vote after vote on the CR in the Senate, adding that he hopes Democrats “get wise.”

“We are going to keep voting to open up the government, and eventually the Democrats, hopefully sooner or later, are going to come around,” he said.

Even if the CR passed this week, reopening the government and placing funding on cruise control, lawmakers would have less than five weeks to finish regular order appropriations, rather than the seven weeks originally planned.

The current shutdown is already the longest full shutdown and second-longest partial shutdown in American history.