'Trump in a bind' as White House weighs threat to his agenda: WSJ

There is a growing worry in Donald Trump’s White House that the Republican Party may have overplayed its hand with the government shutdown, which could put the presidency in a corner if he wants to save his agenda past the 2026 midterms, according to new reporting.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, despite public bravado about the disruption that forced government services into limbo and is denying workers paychecks, there are growing concerns that the president needs to work out a compromise with Democrats — and that could make him look weak.

As the Journal’s Alex Leary and Tarini Parti are reporting, “Inside the White House, aides are discussing proposals to extend the enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act health-insurance plans, the officials said. Trump hasn’t yet decided whether he will endorse such a proposal, according to the officials. Republicans say they will only hold negotiations with Democrats on the matter after the government is reopened.”

With polls showing Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress and the White House, are being blamed, the president is faced with having to make a hard choice where he might have take a hit to his vanity in order to bolster chances of not losing control of Congress for the last two years of his second term to the emboldened Democrats.

That political reality has put Trump “in a bind,” the report notes.

“He is determined to crush the most concerted Democratic resistance since he regained the White House. But he also has to find a solution to a looming problem that threatens his agenda and the GOP majority in the midterms. The president’s love for a fight is pitted against his zeal for dealmaking,” the Journal is reporting.

According to GOP strategist Whit Ayers, “It has the potential to be a significant issue. Whether it becomes one or not depends upon the course of the election.”

Sensing popular opinion is not going the Republicans’ way, GOP resolve on the issue is starting to fray.

“Even though none of us were supportive of the ACA to begin with, we can’t walk away from the people that have had no place else to go to get their healthcare coverage,” admitted Sen. Mike Rounds (R- SD).

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