From WNYC Studios. I'm Brian Lehrer. This is my daily politics podcast. It's Thursday, September 25th.

So will there be a government shutdown come next Wednesday, October 1st, and what should the fight be about?

You probably know the basic fact by now, unless Democrats and Republicans in Congress can

agree to pass some version of a spending bill, parts of the federal government will shut down.

Top Democratic lawmakers are making health care.

Their red line for the shutdown negotiations. Democrats want to keep

Obamacare tax credits flowing. They say, without them, millions of Americans will see their

premiums jump dramatically. And Democrats want the recent cuts to Medicaid eligibility that were

part of President Trump's one big bill to be reversed without either, no deal.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffreuse.

So opposition, as Democrats, is clear.

Cancel the cuts, lower the cost, save health care.

Jeffreys, the Brooklyn Democrat on MSNBC.

Interestingly, some commentators say the shutdown should really focus on other things,

demanding cuts to tariffs, or the resignation of RFK Jr.

Or democracy as a whole.

But the Democrats in charge are saying health care. On the other side,

the top Senate Republican, Majority Leader John Thune, who said he'd be willing to talk health care

subsidies down the road, also says a shutdown is the wrong way to go about this. Here's what

he said on CNN yesterday to Dana Bash. I think everybody is willing to sit down

and talk about how to make that happen in a context where it should be discussed, not as a hostage

to keep the government open. President Trump is echoing that sentiment, no negotiations,

...