‘Schumer Shutdown’ Extends After Dems Again Block GOP Effort to Open Govt
A long holiday weekend failed to move Democrats closer to ending the federal government shutdown, as Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked for the eighth time a Republican-led effort to reopen the government — despite growing pressure from the Trump administration and mounting public frustration.
The administration, led by President Donald J. Trump, has warned that mass layoffs could begin as early as next week unless spending reforms are enacted. Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought announced over the weekend that “the partial shutdown cannot continue without significant structural changes to how Washington spends taxpayer money.”
Meanwhile, Democrats — led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D–N.Y.) — have dug in, demanding billions to restore Obamacare subsidies, funding for NPR and PBS, and new allocations for programs benefiting illegal immigrants. Republicans have rejected those priorities as wasteful and ideologically driven.
One crisis was narrowly averted when President Trump directed the Pentagon to reallocate funds ensuring that America’s service members receive their paychecks on schedule Oct. 15, even as most government operations remain suspended. But the next payday for Senate staffers remains unfunded, adding to the growing political pressure on Congress to act.
Despite continued negotiations, both sides remain entrenched in the same positions that triggered the shutdown earlier this month. Schumer and Senate Democrats insist on conditioning any reopening of the government on passage of their health care agenda, while Republicans have maintained that those policy debates should occur after the government is funded.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R–S.D.) is keeping up the pressure by repeatedly bringing the House-passed short-term continuing resolution (CR) to the floor. The bill would temporarily extend government funding while long-term spending talks continue.
“Democrats like to whine that Republicans aren’t negotiating,” Thune said on the Senate floor. “But negotiation, Mr. President, is what you do when each side has a list of demands and you need to meet in the middle. Republicans haven’t put forward any demands. Only Democrats have — and by the way, very expensive demands.”
Schumer, for his part, doubled down on the partisan attacks, calling the GOP proposal a “dead end” and insisting that Republicans “must work with Democrats in a bipartisan way” to reopen the government — even as his caucus continues to block every Republican measure.
In a statement from the White House, President Trump blasted Schumer as a “weak and failed politician” who has allowed “the radical left to take over the Democrat Party.”
“I don’t want to bore you with the fact that Schumer said 100 times, ‘You should never close our government,’” Trump told reporters. “But Schumer is a weakened politician. He’s going to finish his career as a failed politician. He’s allowed the radical left to take over the Democrat Party.”
While most Democrats remain loyal to Schumer’s obstruction strategy, a handful have broken ranks. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D–Nev.) and Angus King (I–Maine) have both voted in favor of reopening the government, while Sen. John Fetterman (D–Pa.) has sided with Republicans on every previous vote but missed Tuesday night’s roll call.
President Trump has held firm in his stance that the government must be reopened without caving to left-wing spending demands, reminding Americans that his administration’s “big, beautiful bill” already enacted $1.5 trillion in spending cuts to restore fiscal sanity in Washington.
“Democrats are trying to undo what we’ve achieved — they want to bring back waste, abuse, and funding for programs that do nothing for the American people,” Trump said. “We’re not going back.”
As the shutdown stretches into its third week, the political landscape is clear: President Trump and congressional Republicans are fighting to rein in Washington’s excess, while Schumer’s Democrats are holding the government hostage to fund the radical remnants of the Biden-era agenda.