With the current government shutdown now nearing a month, making it the second longest in history, the blame game remains strong among political circles. While House Democrat leaders have hit the press hard, accusing Republican leaders of refusing to find a solution to end the shutdown, Republicans within the Trump administration have taken to government websites, pinning blame on their Democrat counterparts. Despite a current Republican trifecta in Congress and the White House, there remains uncertainty among Americans over who is to blame for the government shutdown, with a relatively even split among both parties in the newest polls. As both sides are already making initial preparations for the 2026 midterm season, a public consensus against either party could be detrimental in swing districts. This election could either deny Republicans a trifecta for the second half of Trump’s term or allow them a chance to ram Trump’s agenda through Congress until 2029.
To fully assess who is responsible for the shutdown it is essential to look back to the actual happenings in the days prior to and during the shutdown. It’s rather useless to take partisan banter at face value nowadays, with such extreme polarization between both camps. Following a clash over healthcare funding, the government entered Oct. 1 without a proper funding plan. Democrats refused to pass the Republican spending bill after Republicans did not implement provisions to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) credits through the end of the year. Though Republicans seemed initially open to it, the bill which passed the House did not include the healthcare provisions that Democrats wished for. So, the Democrats refused to pass the bill in the Senate.
On Thursday, Oct. 22, the Senate once again failed to pass a bill which would end the shutdown. This vote, the 12th time that such a motion has failed in the previous month, demonstrates the strict partisan divide between both parties in Congress, and the inability to come to an agreement while over 1.4 million federal workers remain furloughed or without pay.
I believe that the onset and longevity of the government shutdown can be primarily attributed to one thing: the inability of Republicans to reach a compromise on the budget while holding both houses of Congress and the presidency. Their failure to compromise on the extension of healthcare benefits which already exist within the provisions of the ACA is just another example of an unwillingness to work across the aisle. This again demonstrates Republicans attempting to implement the agenda of President Trump at all costs. The major spending acts of Republicans this session, most notably the Big Beautiful Bill, have primarily passed via budget reconciliation, bypassing any compromise with their Democrat counterparts in order to implement an agenda that is purely Republican.
Democrats this session have proved relatively willing to compromise if given the opportunity, as shown by their willingness to negotiate with Republicans to extend the budget if healthcare subsidies are agreed to be extended through the end of the year. The fact of the matter is that when no party has a 60-plus vote majority in the Senate, it requires some degree of compromise. Democrats have been shown to be open to this compromise and are willing to accept a majority of GOP revisions to the budget if given concessions on healthcare subsidies which already exist as the status quo. The unwillingness to reach a compromise during the shutdown has been primarily a one-sided issue. As the majority in both houses, it is the Republicans’ responsibility to be open to compromise if they wish to pass a budget which they put together. President Trump’s budget is one which Democrats have been graciously willing to adopt. I believe that the Republicans should extend the same graciousness to maintain healthcare benefits for over 22 million Americans throughout the end of the year. While the responsibility for the shutdown is relatively split between voters, an overwhelming majority believe that these benefits should be maintained, a vote of confidence for the ideals of the Democrats.
In the end, it takes two parties to resolve deeply divisive issues such as the budget. If Republicans want to be stubborn on ACA benefits for a significant portion of Americans, they should bear the responsibility for the millions more suffering from the shutdown. Republicans have pushed Trump’s agenda through Congress without much resistance. Now they have to face the reality of their slim majorities in Congress, which require compromise to maintain. The Republican Party is betraying millions of Americans with its long streak of stubbornness, and they must change if they would like a shot at keeping their trifecta through 2029.
