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GOP legislative leader the House leader asserted that Democrats are “lacking seriousness” during talks to end the ongoing government closure, now on its fifth day and expected to last into next week or longer.

Negotiations among the two major parties hit a standstill during the weekend, with no votes anticipated to end the standoff. Survey data indicated only 28% of Democrats along with 23% of GOP supporters consider their party’s positions worth shutting down the government.

In his comments on a major news program, Johnson stated his chamber fulfilled its duties by passing a measure for government funding and now the responsibility lies with the Senate “to turn the lights back on so that everyone can do their work”. He charged the opposition of failing to engage “in meaningful discussions”.

“They’re doing this to get political cover because the Senate leader fears that he won’t win his next re-election bid for Senate reelection because he’s going to be challenged from a left-wing contender from New York, because that’s the new popular thing in politics,” he remarked, referring to a New York congresswoman potentially challenging the incumbent senator for the Senate position in the coming election.

But Johnson’s counterpart, the opposition leader, told the same program that a Republican senator lied last week by asserting that Democrats weren’t truthful about their intentions related to medical coverage for immigrants without documentation.

“GOP members are deceitful since they’re trailing in the court of public opinion,” Jeffries stated, noting that Democrats are “standing up for the healthcare for American workers, for labor-class citizens, for the middle class”.

The minority leader also addressed to remarks from the ex-president on a social platform labeling the Democratic party of “hate, evil, and Satan” accompanied by images of party figures, including progressive representatives, the Senate leader, the previous House speaker, and the former president and first lady.

When asked if he could still negotiate with the ex-leader, Jeffries said the ex-president’s conduct “is outrageous, it’s irrational, it’s unreasonable, and it speaks for itself. The American people merit more than lies, hostilities, than deepfake videos and a leader devoting excessive time to golfing.”

Top political figures haven’t engaged in official discussions in nearly a week while both parties attempt to secure political advantage ahead of renewed discussions.

The minority leader mentioned following their last discussion earlier this week, “Republicans, along with the ex-president, have gone radio silent and the Democratic party leadership “will keep emphasizing, the Senate leader and myself, that we are ready to meet whenever and wherever, with all parties to address this issue with the seriousness it requires”.

The struggle for political advantage persisted through Sunday as Johnson stated that the potential for temporary government job suspensions, called furloughs, evolving into permanent dismissals “is a regrettable situation the administration wishes to avoid”.

A top White House economic adviser increased pressure on Democrats, saying the administration will start mass layoffs among government employees if the president decides discussions with the opposition have “completely stalled”.

The official stated on a national news program that the president and budget director “are preparing measures and ready to take action if necessary, but hoping that they don’t”. However, he suggested there’s a chance that Democrats could back down.

“I believe all parties is still hopeful that when we get a fresh start at the beginning of the week, that we can get the Democrats to see that it’s just common sense to prevent job losses of that nature,” the adviser said.

But some fear Democrats have walked into a trap. Johnson said on Sunday that the administration had asked the Democratic leadership to maintain government operations.

“In a situation like this, with Senate Democrats choosing to hand government control over to the White House, they have to make tough decisions,” he explained, referencing the management official.

The management official, Johnson said, “has to now look at all of the federal government, acknowledging funding sources have been turned off and decide which programs are essential, policies, and personnel. This isn’t a task he enjoys. But he’s being required to perform it by the Democratic leader.”

The spirit of mutual recrimination continued with the Senate leader telling a news network Johnson “doesn’t want to discuss the actual problem, the healthcare crisis facing the American people. Therefore he creates false narratives to distract the public.”

But in an interview set to broadcast on Monday, Johnson informed a different network he views the problem of ending health subsidies – which Democrats prioritize to their negotiating position – as something resolvable later.

“We have effectively a quarter-year for discussions in the White House and in Congress, that’s ample time,” Johnson said. “We require participants in good faith to come around the table and hold those talks. This cannot happen when the government is shut down,” he added.

A leading Senate Democrat also speaking to a Sunday show was asked if his party delegates in the Senate would stay united after three Democratic senators defected to support GOP measures. The senator said expressing confidence that “all Democrats understand that countless of their constituents are about to be priced out of their healthcare”.

“We need a president who can act like an adult, who will negotiate and resolve to their self-imposed healthcare crisis,” the senator said. “Right now we don’t see that. We see the former president golfing frequently, we notice the House leader telling his House colleagues to skip legislative sessions, claiming no duties for the federal government to do.”