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The White House thinks that the current government funding debate can be won just like the last one was in March. They believe that nothing has changed, and they can pass a bill to keep the government open by putting Senate Democrats up against a deadline with no negotiations.
The political climate has changed.
The White House doesn’t see it, which is why Trump and his party are about to step on the rake and smack themselves in the face with a government shutdown.
The House Republican leadership plans to put a bill on the floor this week to keep the federal government open through Nov. 20, a strategy aimed at giving appropriators another seven weeks to hash out a broader spending deal for the FY2026 bills.
Republicans are saying the CR will be “clean” — free of partisan policy riders.
But as we’ve reported, the GOP proposal doesn’t include any of the Democrats’ demands. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have said they can’t vote for any CR unless it includes health care-related provisions.
It’s not clear if Democrats are demanding that Republicans renew enhanced premium subsidies for Obamacare or restore OBBB Medicaid cuts. Rather, Schumer and Jeffries have simply called on Republicans to negotiate.
People who think Democrats should announce that they are shutting down the government miss the political nuance.
By asking for negotiations, Democrats are being reasonable and deflating any GOP attempt to blame them for a shutdown by demonstrating that it is Trump and his party who are unwilling to talk.
When/if the government shuts down, it will be Republicans who are left holding the bag, because they are the party in power, and they refused to come to the table to secure the needed votes to avoid a shutdown.
The economy is already in bad shape, and it will be damaged even more by a government shutdown. There are no winners in the shutdown itself, but if the government shuts down, it isn’t going to reopen without Republicans restoring, at a minimum, Obamacare subsidies, which is something that Republicans could agree to do right now.
Democrats aren’t in control of Congress or the White House so they won’t take the blame for a shut down.
Trump owns the record for the longest government shutdown in history. The government shut down for 35 days in 2019 because he wanted funding for his border wall.
If the government shuts down again, it could last even longer.
What do you think about a potential government shutdown? Share your opinion in the comments below.