As Democrats prepare for a possible federal shutdown, their endgame is uncertainWASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats who have struggled for months to counter President Donald Trump have settled on a bold, one-step strategy if they do not get significant concessions on health care before government funding runs out Wednesday: voting to shut down the government. Publicly, Democrats say they believe Trump and Republicans will bear the blame if there is a shutdown and that they eventually would be forced to negotiate a compromise. The country “will get worse with or without” a shutdown, Schumer said this month. “Because Trump is lawless.” It’s an uncertain endgame and an about-face for Democrats who in the past have strenuously opposed shutdowns that were instigated by Republicans. An extended shutdown with mass firings of federal workers would be a major escalation in the annual spending battles between the two parties.