Ezra Klein made the case for a government shutdown two days ago in the NY Times. It seems that argument is increasingly popular on the left. Politico reported yesterday that battle lines were being drawn.
Battle lines are emerging on Capitol Hill in the fight to avert a government shutdown in three weeks — and it’s not just Republicans vs. Democrats.
On one side, fiscal hawks are joining with the White House to keep federal agencies running on static funding levels, ideally into January or longer. On the other, Democrats and some top Republicans want to punt no further than November to buy congressional negotiators more time to cut a cross-party compromise on fresh funding totals for federal programs.
In the end, the standoff could hinge on Speaker Mike Johnson’s appetite for trying to pass a funding package backed by President Donald Trump but not Democrats, as he did in the spring — and whether Senate Democrats once again capitulate rather than see government operations grind to a halt Oct. 1.
“They jammed us last time,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), a top appropriator, said in an interview. “And I am encouraging my Republican friends who want to do appropriations to understand that that won’t work this time.”
Are they going to go the distance this time? The previous shutdown was avoided when Sen. Schumer and other Democrats caved after weeks of talking tough.
Party leaders have signaled that they plan to use the looming funding showdown to press for reversals of Medicaid cuts, extensions of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, and limits on President Donald Trump’s spending authority—even if it means shouldering the political risk if negotiations collapse.
“Healthcare is a clear red line,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York told reporters on Thursday. “We will not support a partisan Republican spending bill that rips health care away from the American people.”…
“If Republicans want to keep the government open, they have to work with Democrats in a bipartisan way,” Schumer said Thursday on the Senate floor. “That’s the only way to get it done. But if Republicans choose to continue going at it alone, if they refuse to be reasonable, if they close the door on negotiations, then any shutdown is going to be on them. Time is short.”
So, Sen. Schumer is once again talking tough but we’ve seen this play out before. But this time it may actually happen because the base is angry. They are talking themselves into this.
News: House Democrats had an angry caucus mtg this morning over government funding & a possible shutdown. Rank-and-file Dems want party leaders – especially Schumer – to be willing to shut down the government in order to get what they want on Obamacare & Medicaid
— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) September 9, 2025
For his part, Speaker Johnson says he’s hearing that Democrats are working themselves up to actually pulling the trigger this time. As he put it, the “shutdown chatter on the left is growing louder.” He added, “It seems Democrats may take the path of maximum resistance and try to shut the government down.”
.@SpeakerJohnson: “The ultimate question of whether there’s going to be a government shutdown at the end of the month is going to be up to congressional Democrats, and that’s just the way it is.” pic.twitter.com/WKayMw4QON
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 9, 2025
My own guess is that it’s going to happen this time. Democrats shut down the government in Texas a few weeks ago and while that achieved nothing in Texas it won them lots of applause around the country from left-wing media outlets and progressives. Beyond that, I can’t imagine Sen. Schumer caving again this time after the beating he took last time. He’ll have to show some willingness to fight even if it makes no sense.
The bigger question may be how long this shutdown lasts. It’s very unlikely Trump is going to go along with a) undoing parts of the BBB or b) extending Obamacare. As with the Texas Dems, the goal isn’t really to change the outcome it’s to generate negative headlines aimed at Republicans. They will certainly get the headlines if only because the media are overwhelmingly on their side. Democrats manufacture a crisis and the media bends over backwards to tell everyone it’s Republicans who are at fault. Many such cases, as they say.
But as I suggested yesterday, there may be an even darker impulse behind this. Democrats expected Trump to tank the economy and were counting on the bad news to do the work for them. But that hasn’t happened so far. A weeks-long government shutdown could put enough strain on the economy to change that. It could hand Democrats the talking points they wanted all along.
Of course they will never admit this is the plan or that they are happy about nudging the country toward a recession. Admitting they considered this in advance would shift the blame to themselves, but it’s not possible this potential outcome has eluded them. SImply put, harming the economy a bit by throwing a wrench into the works could benefit them right now, or at least hurt Trump more than it hurts them. That may be the unspoken reason they go through with it this time. They can count on the media not to mention that government shutdowns are bad for the economy if they do it or to replay their own pleas against it. Speaker Johnson posted this clip the last time Democrats were threatening a shutdown.
Democrats have railed against government shutdowns.
But now they’re supporting one.⁰
What’s changed? They’re willing to do ANYTHING to stop President Trump from implementing his agenda. pic.twitter.com/XTQHSYcuvP— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) March 11, 2025
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and bold policies, America’s economy is back on track.
Help us continue to report on the president’s economic successes and combat the lies of the Democrats. Join Hot Air VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
