Trump signals openness to deal on Democrats' health care demand

US President Donald Trump signaled Monday an openness to engaging with Democrats on one of their main health care demands as the ongoing government shutdown rounds out its sixth day.

"If we, if we made the right deal, I'd make a deal. Sure. I mean, you have, right now, subsidies. You have subsidies. That's the problem with Obamacare. The subsidies are so much, it's billions and billions of dollars is being wasted, and we can have a much better health care than we have right now," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

"We're talking to 'em. I mean, I'm not saying that's going to happen, because this has also been going on, not for 3,000 years, but it's been going on for a long time," he added.

Democrats have sought to include health care reforms as part of any budget bill to reopen the government, including a reversal of part of Trump's signature tax law that established cuts to Medicaid funding, as well as an extension of subsidies under the US's quasi-universal health care law known as the Affordable Care Act.

The Republican-controlled Senate is expected to again consider a Republican-backed proposal that would fund the government through Nov. 21 at existing levels, though it is unlikely that Democrats will support the measure after twice prior largely voting in opposition.

While a shutdown does not automatically result in a full-blown economic crisis, it creates major disruptions for many aspects of American life.

Many federal employees deemed essential are furloughed, or forced to work without pay, while others have been placed on mandatory leave until a new budget is approved. Trump has added the threat of layoffs during this shutdown.