D.C.-area Democrats privately scoff at federal workers union's call to end shutdown

A call from the largest federal workers union in the country for Democrats to pass a GOP bill reopening the government on Monday was met with uncharacteristic yawns from Washington, D.C.-area Democrats.Why it matters: Such a statement from a powerful union would, in normal times, have a profound impact on Democrats. These are not normal times.Democrats are dug in, emboldened by rebounding support from their voters and determined to walk away from the shutdown with something to show for their intransigence.Democratic lawmakers tell Axios they feel they have the upper hand and that Republicans are poised to come to the negotiating table — though Republicans say essentially the exact opposite.Driving the news: American Federation of Government Employees president Everett Kelley released a statement Monday saying "it's time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today."Kelley said the Democrats should do what they have sworn not to: Pass the GOP's "clean" stopgap government funding bill on the expectation of future negotiations on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies.What we're hearing: "I have a lot of AFGE members in my district and they are pissed ... at the statement," said one D.C.-area House Democrat, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid open conflict with one of the largest unions in their district."They think Republicans have been shutting down the government anyway and buy our argument [about the] ACA," the lawmaker said.A second D.C.-area lawmaker said they are "not sure there is much of a difference" after the statement and that the potential cut off of nutrition assistance benefits is "is the bigger issue to watch."Between the lines: Democrats have also said throughout the shutdown that furloughs and RIFs aren't effective pressure points as in past shutdowns because the administration has been laying off huge swaths of the federal workforce for months.The first House Democrat who spoke to Axios said AFGE members in their district "think that if the shutdown ends with a bipartisan deal that there will be light at the end of the tunnel and some room for optimism.""Universities, law firms, media outlets, judges. Now unions," a third House Democrat said. "To protect the immediate needs of their members they will cave and call on their defenders to give in."However, the lawmaker added, "their workforce will be decimated ultimately by this administration."Yes, but: Some Democrats acknowledged that, while they aren't necessarily folding on the shutdown, they are taking the AFGE statement seriously.Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told reporters he is "not announcing any change in my position at this time" but that the statement has a "lot of impact" and that the AFGE are "our friends.""In general, the people we've been hearing from overwhelmingly have [said], 'hold the line' and 'don't get in,'" Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) told Axios, "but obviously the people at AFGE are hearing something different.""I'm gonna pay close attention to them," Beyer added.What they're saying: "Everyone has a right to their opinion. But let's be clear: paying federal employees on time isn't a partisan issue, it's a matter of basic governance," an AFGE spokesperson told Axios."AFGE will never apologize for standing up for the workers who keep our country running and for the principle that our civil servants should never be used as a political bargaining chip."The bottom line: Democrats still think they are winning the shutdown, and, as such, they're not quite ready to throw in the towel."We have the sense that the Republicans are recognizing that they are playing a poor hand on health care," a fourth House Democrat said.Republicans, the lawmaker argued, "will need to come to the table and revise all their dreadful cuts in the big beautiful bill."

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