After nearly seven weeks of a government shutdown, Democrats blinked. They spent almost fifty days holding the country hostage, insisting they would not reopen the government unless Republicans agreed to extend their preferred health care subsidies and spending increases. In the end, Democrats caved and walked away with nothing. No Obamacare extension, no spending win, not even a symbolic policy concession.
The pressure crushed them. SNAP benefits lapsed on November 1 for millions of households. Air travel was buckling with mass delays and flight cancellations. Federal workers were pictured lining up outside food banks. At the same time, Donald Trump was loudly calling on Senate Republicans to end the filibuster to break the shutdown once and for all. The message was clear: Democrats were running out of road, and they knew it.
Chuck Schumer tried to keep Democrats locked in, but his caucus broke. The shutdown, which Democrats used as their leverage, turned into a political trap. Trump applied pressure from the outside. Air traffic delays and food aid cutoffs applied pressure from the inside. Democrats could feel the backlash building. Once a group of Senate Democrats defected, the strategy collapsed.
Here’s Sen. Tim Kaine, of Virginia, who voted as part of the Dem gang to end the shutdown, admitting that he intentionally ignored the problem until after last week’s elections, admitting the quiet part out loud:
Schumer voted against the bill to reopen the government, still trying to placate a psychotic left-wing base. He insisted he could not support a funding measure that did not include the policy wins he demanded. “America is in the midst of a Republican made healthcare crisis. I cannot support a continuing resolution that fails to address it.” But it did not matter. The votes were gone.
Gavin Newsom threw a tantrum, posting, “Pathetic. This isn’t a deal. It’s a surrender. Don’t bend the knee.” Retiring former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s early warning now sounds like she saw this coming. Earlier this year, she said, “I myself don’t give away anything for nothing.” That is exactly what Democrats just did.
Democratic Senators Voting to Open the Government
- Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada)
- Dick Durbin (Illinois)
- John Fetterman (Pennsylvania)
- Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire)
- Tim Kaine (Virginia)
- Angus King (Maine, Independent who caucuses with Democrats)
- Jacky Rosen (Nevada)
- Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire)
These senators looked at the wall of economic and political pain and finally decided to put country over party.
Key Terms of the Agreement
- Government funding restored through late January
- No guaranteed policy concessions
- Only a promised vote later on subsidies
- Federal workers receive back pay and reinstatement protections
That is it. Democrats held the government closed for almost fifty days and walked away with a promise that maybe there would be a vote later. Not a win. Not a compromise. A promise.
Republicans get exactly what they wanted: a clean funding bill. Trump gets momentum from demanding that Senate Republicans end the filibuster to force Democrats’ hand. Democrats get nothing but angry donors and a headline that reads like a surrender note.
This shutdown ended the same way it could have ended on day one. The only difference is that Democrats wasted nearly fifty days of national chaos to prove a point they could not defend.
Newsom’s right, for once, the actions of Democrats since the shutdown started have been pathetic.