US government shutdown enters 21st day with no end in sight

​​​​​​​By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US government shutdown entered its 21st day Tuesday after the Senate on Monday blocked a stopgap funding measure for the 11th time.

Senate Republicans are now meeting with President Donald Trump for lunch at the White House as a resolution remains out of reach.

Republicans and Democrats continue to accuse each other of obstructing progress on reopening the government.

"Welcome everybody. Day 21 of the Democrat shutdown. It's now three weeks, three weeks since the Democrats have decided to close the entire federal government," House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Capitol Hill.

Johnson said it is now the longest full shutdown in American history.

"So far, with this shutdown has caused to the economy and to the people of this country is really unconscionable. The US economy has now lost hundreds of billions of dollars," he said, urging Democrats to vote on a House-passed "clean" continuing resolution.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized Republicans for what he called a refusal to engage in meaningful negotiations to end the impasse and address pressing national issues.

"Now it's day 21 of Donald Trump's government shutdown, and while millions of Americans are feeling the squeeze, as I said, the House remains on vacation, and Senate Republicans, they're headed to the White House today, not for negotiations, not to work on any path out of a shutdown or to avert a health care crisis, but for a rose garden pep rally with Donald Trump," Schumer said on the Senate floor.

He argued that Republicans are using the shutdown as a tactic to avoid substantive discussions on issues like rising costs, inflation and health care -- matters he said are at the top of mind for the American public.

"What do Americans care about most? Costs, inflation, health care, the very things the Republicans here in the Senate and in the House are refusing to address because they want to shut the government down to avoid discussing the health care issue and having a serious negotiation about it," he said.

The shutdown began Oct. 1 after a breakdown in negotiations on federal spending priorities. Thousands of federal workers have since been furloughed, or working without pay, while government services have been curtailed or suspended.