The federal government is set to shut down at midnight on Tuesday. The House of Representatives already passed a seven-week extension that would keep the government funded through November 20. Majority Leader John Thune says Democrats should vote yes on that bill so bipartisan Senate negotiations can continue on a comprehensive appropriations package. But Democrats are refusing to do so. Instead, they are demanding a ransom of more than half a trillion dollars over 10 years just to keep the government running for a few more weeks.
It is a ridiculous proposal; Republicans should refuse it, and Democrats will be left to take public blame for yet another example of Washington incompetence. Or they can come to their senses before midnight Tuesday and let the federal government keep functioning while talks continue.
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Democratic lawmakers face intense pressure from their rabid base to shut down the government. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is especially under scrutiny because last March, he and 10 other Senate Democrats put country over party and voted with Republicans to fund the government through the end of September. Enraged lefties immediately pilloried Schumer and talked of ousting him.
“I myself don’t give away anything for nothing. I think that’s what happened the other day,” former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said, as though it is meritorious to demand payment for doing right by one’s country.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a possible Schumer replacement, added, “This turns the federal government into a slush fund for Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Why would Senate Democrats hand away our leverage?”
Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD) told constituents at a town hall meeting that it was time for Schumer to resign; “I’m afraid that it may be time for the Senate Democrats to pick new leadership.”
The feeling among the Democratic Party base that Schumer caved too easily has intensified. In July, Republicans passed and President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill, which cut taxes for all Americans, funded mass deportation, and slowed the growth of health care spending by, among other things, denying Medicaid to illegal immigrants.
Democrats now want to undo most of the healthcare spending reductions, including restoring healthcare for illegal immigrants, and on top of that, they want to extend Obamacare subsidies for insurance companies that are also set to expire at the end of the month. According to a Sept. 18 letter from the Congressional Budget Office, the combined cost of these policy changes would add $622 billion to federal deficits over the next 10 years, with the illegal immigrant healthcare provisions costing almost $100 billion alone.
These are outrageous demands from Democrats. Obamacare was rammed through by them with the lie that it would pay for itself, but from the repeal of the Cadillac tax, to the failure of Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program, almost every “pay for” has been rescinded, meaning Obamacare has already added hundreds of billions to federal deficits even before you add subsequent subsidies for insurance payments such as the one Democrats are trying to extend right now. Enough is enough. Obamacare failed. It is time to stop subsidizing it by sending good money after bad.
Nor should Republicans entertain the idea of refunding Medicaid for illegal immigrants. A big part of why Trump won in 2024 is that voters were tired of President Joe Biden’s illegal immigrant invasion and how much it was costing taxpayers to fund services for people who should never have been allowed in. Republicans would betray those who put them in power if they agreed to the Democratic Party’s ransom demand.
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“There is a time and a place to debate healthcare,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said back in 2013, “but not when the funding of the federal government, and all the lives that are impacted by it, hang in the balance.”
The Democrats, including Murphy, should heed his advice now, drop their shutdown ransom request, and vote for the House’s continuing resolution so bipartisan appropriations talks can continue in the Senate.