image source, Getty Images
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- author, anthony zercher
- author title, BBC News
After 43 days, the longest U.S. government shutdown in history has ended.
Federal employees will receive paychecks again. National parks will reopen. Government services that had been fully restricted or suspended will resume. Air travel, which has become a nightmare for many Americans, will once again be simply frustrating.
Once the dust settles and the ink dries on President Donald Trump’s signature on the funding bill, what has this unprecedented government shutdown accomplished? And how much did it cost?
Senate Democrats succeeded in causing a government shutdown despite being in the minority in the chamber by using Congressional delay tactics and refusing to accept Republican measures to temporarily fund the government.
They drew a line in the sand and demanded that Republicans agree to extend health insurance subsidies for low-income Americans that expire at the end of this year.
A small number of Democrats voted Sunday to reopen the government, but received virtually nothing in return. Although a Senate vote on the aid was promised, there was no guarantee of Republican support or even the necessary votes in the House.
image source, Getty Images
Since then, left-wing members of the party have been furious.
They accuse Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who did not vote in favor of the funding bill, of being secretly complicit in the reopening plan or simply incompetent.
They felt their party had given up, even though recent elections had shown them in the lead. They feared that the sacrifices made by the shutdown were in vain.
More moderate Democrats, like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, called the government shutdown deal “pathetic” and a “surrender.”
play by old rules
“I’m not here to punch anyone,” he told The Associated Press. “But I don’t like that we continue to play by the old rules in the face of an alien species, Donald Trump, who has completely changed the rules of the game.”
Newsom is running for president in 2028, which could be a good indicator of party sentiment. He is a staunch supporter of Joe Biden and defended him even after his dismal performance in the June debate against Trump.
If he is willing to push back, that doesn’t bode well for Democratic leaders.
image source, Getty Images
For President Trump, his mood has shifted from cautious optimism to celebratory mood since the Senate deadlock was broken on Sunday.
On Tuesday, he congratulated Republicans in Congress and said the vote to reopen the government was a “very important victory.”
“We are opening up our country,” he said at a Veterans Day commemoration at Arlington Cemetery. “It should never have closed.”
President Trump, perhaps sensing Democrats’ anger at Schumer, joined in the attack during the interview. fox news on Monday night.
No major concessions
“He thought he could divide the Republican Party, but the Republicans dragged him down,” Trump said of the Democratic senator.
While there were times when Trump appeared to relent (last week he criticized Republican senators for refusing to lift the filibuster to reopen the government), he ultimately emerged from the shutdown without making any substantive concessions.
Although his approval ratings have declined over the past 40 days, Republicans still have a year to go before they face voters in the midterm elections.
And unless there’s some sort of constitutional change, Trump doesn’t have to worry about running for president again.
image source, Getty Images
After the government shutdown ends, Congress will resume its regular programs. The House has been effectively paralyzed for more than a month, but Republicans remain confident they can pass substantive legislation before next year’s election cycle begins.
Under the agreement to end the shutdown, some government departments will receive funding through September, but Congress must approve spending for remaining government departments by the end of January to avoid further shutdowns.
Democrats may be licking their wounds and looking forward to another chance to fight.
Meanwhile, the health care subsidy issue they fought for could become a pressing concern for tens of millions of Americans whose health insurance costs are expected to double or triple by the end of the year. Republicans are ignoring this politically damaging issue that affects voters.
Other hazards
That’s not the only danger facing Trump and the Republican Party. The day, which was supposed to be marked by a House vote on government funding, was spent discussing the latest revelations surrounding the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Late this Wednesday, Representative Adelita Grijalva was sworn in to Congress, becoming the 218th and final signer of a petition forcing the House to vote to order the Department of Justice to release all files related to the Epstein case.
That was enough for Trump to complain on his website, Truth Social, that his success in getting government funding was being eclipsed.
“Democrats are bringing back the Jeffrey Epstein hoax, as they will do anything to distract from how badly they did with the government shutdown and many other issues,” he wrote.
All of this was a stark reminder that even the best-laid political plans and strategies can go awry in an instant.
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