10.07.25

Democrats Have Voted Five Times to Shut Down the Government

One Week Into a Government Shutdown, Senate Democrats Are Still Siding With Their Progressive Base and Harming the Rest of the Country By Keeping the Government Closed

HEADING INTO THE SECOND WEEK OF THE SCHUMER SHUTDOWN, SENATE DEMOCRATS APPEAR DUG IN TO HOLDING GOVERNMENT FUNDING HOSTAGE

  • “There’s no deal in sight to end the crisis.” (Punchbowl News: AM: Shutdown Day 6: Will Democrats blink? – 10/6/25)
  • The Senate voted for a fifth time Monday evening on whether to fund the government, with all but three Democrats opposing the clean continuing resolution (CR). (H.R. 5371: Roll Call Vote #545 – 10/6/25)
  • Republicans’ CR “would keep federal agencies funded through Nov. 21 to buy appropriators more time to negotiate and pass fiscal 2026 spending bills. It does not include partisan policy riders or cut funding.” (E&E News: Republican push for funding patch hits Democratic wall – 9/17/25)
  • “Republicans have the luxury of a simple message this time: We’re willing to negotiate, but not with the threat of a government shutdown hanging over us.” (Punchbowl News: AM: On the brink: 5 shutdown dynamics to watch – 9/30/25)
  • “By contrast, Democrats have a lot of demands:” $1.5 trillion in spending that includes repealing Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s reforms to preserve Medicaid and a $50 billion rural hospital fund. (Punchbowl News: AM: On the brink: 5 shutdown dynamics to watch – 9/30/25; The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: Meet the Medicaid Double-Dippers – 7/21/25; The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: Chuck Schumer Courts a Government Shutdown – 9/18/25;Politico: GOP boosts rural hospital fund – 7/1/25)
  • “There are no indications yet that additional Senate Democrats will vote for the GOP funding measure. Only three have done so up to now.” (Punchbowl News: AM: Shutdown Day 6: Will Democrats blink? – 10/6/25)
  • “[T]he Democratic senators voting with Republicans on the continuing resolution clearly disagree with leadership’s assessment that their party’s fight is a worthy one.” (NOTUS: Lawmakers Slowly Realize It’s Easy To Start a Shutdown — But It’s Hard to End One – 10/6/25)
  • Americans “overwhelmingly” oppose Democrats’ government shutdown:
    • “70% of voters oppose the government shutdown.”
    • “65% of voters say Democrats should end the shutdown by accepting a continuing resolution at current spending levels (Democrats: 39%; Republicans: 90%; Independents: 63%).”
    • “55% of voters say the Democrats behind the shutdown are motivated by pleasing their base.” (Harvard/Harris poll – Sept. 2025)

DEMOCRATS SHUT THE GOVERNMENT DOWN IN FEAR OF THEIR PROGRESSIVE BASE AND ARE NOW COMPLETELY BEHOLDEN TO ACTIVISTS WHO WANT THEM TO SHOW “FIGHT”

“This is not about holding out, this is about fighting, and I think that this is a righteous fight.” – Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)

  • “The notion of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer folding at this point seems very unlikely.” (Punchbowl News: AM: Shutdown Day 6: Will Democrats blink? – 10/6/25)
  • Why? Because “[p]rogressive grassroots groups are blasting congressional Democrats on speed dial to ‘hold the line’ in any negotiations to reopen the government.” (Axios: "Keep fighting": Democratic lawmakers squeezed on government shutdown – 10/2/25)
  • “Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has been closely coordinating his shutdown strategy with outside liberal groups, Axios scooped last week.” (Axios: "Keep fighting": Democratic lawmakers squeezed on government shutdown – 10/2/25)
  • “That pressure campaign will make it more difficult for Democrats to compromise with Republicans to end the shutdown.” (Axios: "Keep fighting": Democratic lawmakers squeezed on government shutdown – 10/2/25)
  • “But the groups are clearly playing an inside-outside game and are using their volunteers to dissuade Democrats from compromising.” (Axios: "Keep fighting": Democratic lawmakers squeezed on government shutdown – 10/2/25)
  • “[T]he biggest sin in the eyes of the party’s base, according to Democratic officials and activists, would not be losing to President Donald Trump in a shutdown battle. It would be refusing to fight.” (NBC News: 'They've got to fight back': Democrats press leaders not to cave in a shutdown fight – 9/26/25)
  • Setting the stage for a government shutdown, Democrats “started discussing a different approach to the next funding fight” back in April, but couldn’t settle on “what they will demand of GOP leaders in return for voting to extend government funding” until a few weeks ago. (The Washington Post: Chuck Schumer is listening — but he’s still sure he was right – 4/29/25; NBC News: Democrats want a government funding fight. But they haven't decided on a plan. – 9/9/25; Politico: Democrats coalesce around insurance subsidies as shutdown demand, Neal says – 9/11/25)

DEMOCRATS’ GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IS HAVING REAL EFFECTS ON AMERICANS

  • “Most federal workers will miss their first paycheck Friday if the shutdown isn’t resolved. Another big date to watch is Oct. 15 — the day active duty military may also miss a check.” (Politico: Senate talks sputter, WH aides prep ACA plans – 10/6/25)
    • “Jaime Billert of New York, whose husband serves in the U.S. Coast Guard, told ABC News that she's already spoken to her children about setting priorities and cutting back on expenses, including dining out. Billert said she told her children, ‘Your dad's not getting paid right now. That's our sole source of income.’” (ABC News: Shutdown spreads uncertainty from furloughed federal workers to broader America – 10/1/25)
  • “Ahead of the shutdown, the Department of Veterans Affairs said it expected 97% of its employees to work, though regional offices would be closed. Some death benefits, such as the placement of permanent headstones at VA cemeteries and ground maintenance, are expected to cease. Communication lines, including hotlines, emails, social media and responses to press inquiries, are expected to be affected as well.” (NBC News: What happens when the government shuts down – 10/3/25)
  • “Crucial food assistance for about 6.7 million low-income Americans has been put in jeopardy by a federal government shutdown that the deeply divided U.S. Congress shows no signs of resolving swiftly.” (Reuters: US government shutdown threatens food-aid program for low-income Americans – 10/2/25)
    • “The threat to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, illustrates how the effects of a shutdown that enters its second day on Thursday will reverberate out from Washington, taking more of a toll the longer that Republicans and Democrats fail to reach an agreement to reopen government agencies.” (Reuters: US government shutdown threatens food-aid program for low-income Americans – 10/2/25)
  • “The government shutdown left some seniors without access to telehealth, while others receiving hospital-level care at home are being discharged or sent back to inpatient units.” (Axios: Some telehealth and home care frozen by shutdown – 10/1/25)
    • “All hospitals participating in the hospital-at-home initiative had to discharge patients or move them to physical hospitals on Tuesday after government funding lapsed without Congress renewing the program, per a recent notice from Medicare administrators.” (Axios: Some telehealth and home care frozen by shutdown – 10/1/25)
    • “Several health systems like Mass General Brigham in Boston and Hackensack Meridian Health in New Jersey started phasing out their hospital-at-home patients early, in anticipation of a shutdown. That further strained already crowded inpatient facilities, Stat News reported.” (Axios: Some telehealth and home care frozen by shutdown – 10/1/25)
  • “White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett told CNBC on Monday morning that the government shutdown will cost the U.S. GDP about $15 billion per week.” (ABC News: Hassett says shutdown will cost US GDP about $15B a week – 10/6/25)
    • “You know, my friends over at the Council of Economic Advisors gave me a report at the end of the week that said that it costs the U.S. GDP about $15 billion a week for a shutdown, or about a 10th of a percent of GDP. And so, if the shutdown continues for a long time, then there's going to be a lot of things that don't happen.” – Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett