The United States government has shut down, this time due to a budget stalemate surrounding healthcare for illegal immigrants. The House and Senate have failed to pass a continuing resolution that will appropriate funds required for ongoing normal government functions, as Democrats refuse to cooperate on a clean bill.
Over the past half-century, the United States government has shut down twenty-one times, and this round marks the fourth to occur during Trump’s administrations. During such periods, which often last just one or two days but can become lengthy, services and government agencies not classified as “essential” will either shutter entirely or make do with skeleton staffs. Areas not impacted by shutdowns include the military, the postal service, and air traffic control. National monuments and parks will be closed to the public, unless their host states provide interim funding. 750,000 nonessential federal workers face furlough, and others deemed ‘essential’ will work without pay until the situation is resolved.
Despite Republican efforts to pass a short-term extension of previously agreed-upon 2025 spending limits, Democrats have refused, and our government indeed shut down following several failed rounds of negotiation. Their sticking point appears to be a reluctance among Republicans to pass an additional continuing resolution that extends COVID-19 era regurgitations of Obamacare that would otherwise expire at the end of this year.
One particular area of contention was verification processes behind individuals receiving Medicaid, who, by statute, must be residing legally in the United States. These safeguards were layered into law by Trump’s recent “Big Beautiful Bill,” and Democrats wanted their removal tied to the debt limit. Such a reversal would put an estimated 1.4 million illegal immigrants on public healthcare and result in $200 billion spent over the coming decade. Otherwise directed, that same money could fully fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
This most recent shutdown begs the question of what the Democrats are standing for and behind whom they line up to do so. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who won his first Congressional term in 1981, pushed for a shutdown despite holding just a 39% approval rating among constituents. This maneuver has led many to suggest his largest political fear may be an upcoming primary challenge from a more radical colleague- the most likely of which would be Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
AOC recently bested the incumbent in early polling for an impending partisan challenge by a significant margin, as her position outside leadership has allowed her to maintain a more extreme point of view. Schumer faced criticism after he failed to push back against Trump’s recent signature “Big Beautiful Bill” to Democratic satisfaction and evidently seized on his next opportunity to posture in advance of his 2028 election. That a 74-year-old man would hold a nation hostage so he can potentially secure an election that would see him turn 83 in office is unsettling and shatters any positive optics he could possibly have created by resisting the continuing resolution.
As was shown in the recent primary victory of New York City’s Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani against slightly more logical opponents such as incumbent Eric Adams and ousted Governor Andrew Cuomo, Democrats are seeking out increasingly controversial and inflammatory platforms in order to win intra-party contests- and relying on the vilification of Trump to exclude Republican contenders.
Despite his having won previous elections as a New York State Assemblyman and claiming victory in the recent mayoral primary, Mamdani has never run for election against a Republican challenger. His entire political career thus far has rested on appearing as a liberal activist to appease extreme primary voters, rather than deliverables for constituents during his terms. By pandering to the most extreme fringes of the base- and focusing all other efforts on demonizing the alternative party- Democrats have fashioned purity tests for American voters and seem ready to hinge critical offices on their success. State and local Democrats have created a marked dichotomy of only liberal vs Trump, rather than conservative, and have driven reasonable Americans toward Republicans in increasing numbers. Trump’s recent reelection, against a backdrop of panicked progressives insisting his inauguration would mark the end of a free nation, was facilitated by such a narrow definition of political identity.
Given that immigration was the number one important issue for American voters leading into the 2024 election, and the same category was consistently polled as Biden’s weakest legislative area, it is baffling that Democrats would potentially stake the midterms on healthcare for non-citizens. While the loudest liberal voices on the internet tend to be for the most radical concepts, many others who register as and vote with Democrats are average citizens seeking betterment for their families and communities, rather than activists looking to make statements. This silent bloc may resist Trump’s rhetoric, but policy can only remain secondary for so long, and action is the most valuable political tool.
Furthermore, immigration was a critical issue for elusive swing voters, who remained undecided until closer to election day and helped deliver the White House to Donald Trump last fall by a significant margin. 77% of swing voters polled following the 2024 election reported that Democrats were not doing enough to secure the national borders, and 73% of them believe that the Democratic Party is taking money that should be spent on Americans and directing it towards illegal immigrants. Literally closing the United States government in protest for non-citizens hardly seems an appropriate correction for a party struggling to connect with voters.
For his part, President Trump seems ready to make the best of a bad situation and use the shutdown as an opportunity to continue DOGE-era spending and employment cuts. “We can do things during the shutdown… that are bad for them and irreversible by them, like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs.” Vice President JD Vance has suggested that mass layoffs will begin if the shutdown lasts more than a few weeks.
Who is to blame for this recent government shutdown? Are Democrats giving Trump a harder time than they would any other Republican president?
Hilary Gunn is a Connecticut native with a degree in Criminal Justice from the George Washington University. She works for a nonprofit and has previously collaborated with the CT GOP as an activist, political campaign manager and field director, and social media organizer. She is currently serving in her fourth term of municipal office and has previously acted as a delegate on the Republican Town Committee.