Government Shutdown Could Become Longest Ever as Trump Says He ‘Won’t Be Extorted’ by Democrats

WASHINGTON – JUNE 5: The U.S. Capitol is shown June 5, 2003 in Washington, DC. Both houses of the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives meet in the Capitol. (Photo by Stefan Zaklin/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is indicating in court that it will only partially fund the federal food assistance program as the government shutdown reaches into a second month. The Department of Agriculture had planned to withhold $8 billion needed for the food program starting Saturday until two judges ordered the administration to fund it. Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday that he was “optimistic” the Senate could vote to reopen the government by the end of the week if lawmakers make progress over the next couple days. That followed comments from President Donald Trump who said he “won’t be extorted” by Democrats to reopen. Democrats say they want to fix a health care crisis and extend subsidies.