I wrote on Thursday that Donald Trump’s latest move to avert a government shutdown was a masterstroke that has Democrats scrambling. With the September 30 deadline approaching, the Trump administration has indicated that if Congress fails to pass a clean continuing resolution (CR), federal workers could face mass firings, not just furloughs. This bold strategy flips the script on Democrats who have been trying to force a shutdown to blame it on Trump and the GOP. With this move, Trump put the pressure squarely back on them.
And it’s working.
According to a report from The Hill, “Cracks are starting to form in the Senate Democratic caucus over whether to hold the line against a seven-week clean government funding stopgap passed by the House.” According to Democratic sources, it was Trump’s threat to lay off thousands of federal workers that changed the Democrats’ political calculus on a shutdown.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), who faces a potential primary challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in 2028, has made it clear he won’t vote for the House-passed GOP stopgap, but centrists in his caucus are looking for a way to avoid a catastrophic shutdown.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who plans to retire from the Senate at the end of 2026, has been “putting out feelers” to Republican senators about reaching some sort of deal or mutual understanding to avoid a government shutdown next week, according to a source familiar with her conversations with Senate colleagues.
Shaheen told Semafor in an interview Wednesday that she sees “a number of ways” to avoid a government shutdown “that should satisfy both sides” and opened the door to voting for the House-passed stopgap next week when Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) brings it back to the Senate floor.
Senate Democrats say Trump’s warning to use a government shutdown to justify firing federal employees running programs “not consistent with the president’s priorities” puts them in a bind. The question they’re grappling with: Is it worth risking a shutdown just to pressure Republicans into bending on health care spending?
Schumer brushed aside a White House memo instructing agencies to consider reduction-in-force notices during a shutdown, calling it “nothing new” and insisting any firings would be reversed in court. “Their unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the administration will end up hiring the workers back, just like they did as recently as today,” he said.
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Does he really believe that? Well, Schumer won't vote for the CR anyway because his vote to break cloture last time all but destroyed him politically. But he’s probably going to have a hard time convincing Democrats on the fence that Trump’s threat is really just a bluff that won’t pan out because they know that the conservative-majority Supreme Court would ultimately side with Trump on this issue.
Eight Senate Democrats who backed the six-month GOP continuing resolution in March remain potential yes votes. That includes Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.), the only Democrat to support last week’s House-passed measure, which failed 44-48. Retiring Democrats like Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) and Sen. Gary Peters (Mich.), plus Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), and Angus King (I-Maine), are also in play, though some have yet to commit.
In the end, Trump’s strategy is simple yet brilliant: force Democrats to choose between their obsession with expanding government handouts and the livelihoods of the very federal workers they claim to protect. Trump has the Democrats right where he wants them.
The Democrats thought they could hold the government hostage, but President Trump’s masterstroke changed the game: mass federal worker firings if no funding deal passes. The mainstream media won’t tell you this, but PJ Media will. Support fearless conservative journalism and join PJ Media VIP now with the promo code FIGHT for 60% off. Stay informed, and stay free!