By Joseph Cunningham
The latest government shutdown was officially the longest government shutdown ever, since President Trump’s first term. The government during this time was not paying most federal workers. Not including, of course, ICE agents, who were still on payroll.
The government officially reopened as seven Senate Democrats and one Independent switched sides and voted to open the government. No negotiations were had; Democrats caved to ACA cuts.
These tax credits help 17 million Americans pay for their healthcare. Many rely on the cuts to keep healthcare entirely, and others will have premiums tripled. So what did the Democrats get out of this? A promise. That is all.
A promise that the GOP will come back to the table to negotiate the ACA cuts. Like many promises offered by this administration, it is likely to go unfulfilled. Republicans are already coming out and saying that Democrats will receive no support on their bill.
This has left many wondering what it was all for; a month of hardships and struggles for many who weren’t paid. All of these senators have either announced they are retiring or aren’t up for reelection in 2026, meaning that many Democrats are in safe seats.
The decision for the government to reopen came after major victories across the country for Democrats, like wins in both the governor races for New Jersey and Virginia, Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger. In New York City progressive candidate Zohran Mamdani beat a political Dynasty in the form of Andrew Cuomo. California’s Prop. 50 passed, which is set to redistrict the state, giving more votes to Democrats.
This followed after Texas did a similar thing to bolster Republican votes. It seemed Democrats were finally heading in a good direction. People across the country were blaming Republicans for the shutdown, despite the Trump administration’s desperate attempts to shift the blame to the other side, using government sites to blame Democrats for the shutdown. Yet despite all this support, eight Democrats decided to give in to the Republican’s demands, betraying the trust voters were feeling in the party.
Not to mention, President Trump was not doing himself any favors with the way he was handling the government shutdown. Sometimes feeling straight out of a comic book. While millions of Americans have their healthcare on the line or are no longer receiving food stamps from SNAP, Trump decides to demolish the entire east-wing, a historic part of the white house, so he can put in a 250 million dollar ballroom.
Concept pictures of the east-wing ballroom, released by the White House, show the place laced in gold decals.
Trump also hosted a large party at Mar-a-lago for his closest allies, with exotic dancers and high-end decorations, all while using SNAP benefits as a holding point against Democrats. In fact, he said he wouldn’t allow any to go through until the Democrat shutdown ended.
Although, Trump could’ve gotten himself an easy win. By allowing the emergency funds to go through, he could’ve heralded himself as the savior SNAP. Instead he chose to go against court rulings saying he had to pay up.
With the shutdown at an end, Trump and his administration continue to make themselves look worse. Trump blames the workers for faults, going to social media to criticize anyone who refused to work for no pay. Then going on to say that they should be let off with no pay or severance packages. The GOP also snuck in a hemp ban which effectively ends all sale of hemp products
With mass support shifting to Democrats and Trump’s approval ratings being lower than ever, it feels like a slap in the face for Democrats to give up and cave to Republicans after everything is said and done.
The Democratic party once again seems more divided than ever, unable to get a consistent message out to its supporters. Senator Bernie Sanders came out and criticized his colleagues decision to vote with the Republicans, saying that it paves way for 15 million Americans to lose healthcare. He referenced studies that estimate this problem to lead to an extra 50,000 deaths due to healthcare costs and allowing trillions of dollars in tax breaks to the one percent of the country.
The Democratic Party is meant to be the opposition to the Republican Party, yet they are a weak party, unable to get a coherent message across. Constantly attacking those that are supposed to be on the same side, such as with Zohran Mamdani.
If they are to be the proper opposition party, then Democrats must adopt more progressive and popular policies, which is what lead to Mamdani’s climb from the bottom to top of the polls.