WATCH LIVE: Senate meets to consider judicial nominations as shutdown enters day 34

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government shutdown is expected to become the longest on record this week as the impasse between Democrats and Republicans continues into a new month.

The Senate is scheduled to meet at 3 p.m. ET. Watch in the player above.

Millions of people face losing food aid, health care subsidies are about to expire, and there are few real talks between the parties about how to end them.

President Donald Trump said in an interview aired Sunday that he “will not be blackmailed” by Democrats demanding negotiations to extend benefits from the expired Affordable Care Act. Echoing the votes of Republicans in Congress, the president said on CBS’s “60 Minutes” that he would not negotiate until the government reopens.

Trump said Democrats had “lost their way” and predicted they would surrender to Republicans.

“I think they should,” Trump said. “And if they don’t vote, that’s their problem.”

Trump’s comments suggest the shutdown may continue for some time as federal workers, including air traffic controllers, are set to lose additional pay, and there is uncertainty about whether the 42 million Americans receiving federal food aid will be able to access assistance. Senate Democrats voted 13 times against reopening the government, insisting they needed Trump and Republicans to negotiate with them first.

The president also repeated his appeals to Republican leaders to change Senate rules and eliminate the filibuster. Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected that idea since Trump’s first term, arguing that the rule requiring 60 votes to overcome any Senate objections is vital to the establishment and has allowed them to block Democratic policies when they are in the minority.

That’s true, but we’re here now, Trump said.

“Republicans have to get tougher,” Trump told CBS. “If we end the filibuster, we can do exactly what we want.”

With both sides ceasing to work, it seems likely that the closure, which has now entered its thirty-fourth day and is approaching its sixth week, will become the longest in history. The previous record was set in 2019, when Trump demanded that Congress give him money to build a border wall between the United States and Mexico.

Potentially crucial week

Trump’s push for the filibuster could serve as a distraction for Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Republican senators who have instead chosen to stay the course as the consequences of the shutdown become more severe.

Republicans are hoping that at least some Democrats will eventually switch their votes, as moderates have been holding weeks-long talks with Republicans about potential concessions that could secure votes on health care in exchange for reopening the government. Republicans need five additional Democrats to pass the bill.

“We need five with the backbone to say we care more about the lives of the American people than gaining some political influence,” Thune said on the Senate floor as the Senate left Washington for the weekend on Thursday.

Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that there is a group of people talking about “a path to fixing the health care disaster” and a Republican commitment not to fire more federal employees. But it is unclear whether these talks can result in a meaningful settlement.