Democrats, Republicans will continue making pitches to Americans on first day of shutdown

New York’s junior Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is to hold a virtual news conference at 11 a.m., one of many messaging efforts expected on Wednesday from both sides of the political aisle. The back-and-forth gets underway when Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) hold a Capitol news conference at 10 a.m.

Gillibrand's presser is to focus one of the main Democratic demands in the face-off — the demand to continue the enhanced COVID-era tax subsidies for Affordable Care Act recipients. Those are set to expire at the end of the year. The senator will note that without an extension, at least 1.6 million New Yorkers will face an average yearly increase of $1,360 in the amount they pay for their premiums. Key Republicans and conservatives oppose that idea, but there are some in the GOP who have indicated they may be open to an extension, and this could be a path toward a deal to end the shutdown.