If you want to know why the Democratic Party just shut down the federal government, look no further than polling numbers released this week by the Pew Research Center. While no congressional leaders in the House and Senate have a net positive favorability rating, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), and Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) are all at least well-liked by voters from their own party. 

The same is not true of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who has a whopping 29-point net negative favorability rating among all voters, including a 4-point net negative rating among Democratic voters. Overall, just 40% of Democratic voters now approve of the party’s congressional leadership, down from 84% just two years ago.

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Democratic Party voters feel powerless under President Donald Trump and his Republican majorities in the House and Senate. They want to see congressional Democrats fight Trump on something, and they are furious with Schumer for voting with Republicans to keep the government funded this March. 

The Schumer shutdown is not designed to limit Trump’s executive power or even secure health insurance subsidies for American citizens and Medicaid for illegal immigrants. What it is designed to do is to make it appear that Schumer is doing all he can to oppose Trump, even if he accomplishes nothing. Schumer does not even have to secure any concessions to “win” this shutdown standoff with Trump. All he has to do is not be one of the seven Senate Democrats who cross party lines to vote with Republicans to reopen the government.

On Tuesday night, Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Angus King (I-ME) joined Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) to vote with Republicans to end the shutdown. Assuming Trump can get Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to vote with Senate Republicans, that means Trump needs just four more Democrats to cave to reach 60 votes. The shutdown would be over, the government would be funded, the crisis averted, and Schumer’s hands would be clean. It is only a matter of time.

Until those Democrats cave, expect Republicans to hammer the party for shutting down the government to secure free healthcare for illegal immigrants, which is a true claim. The lion’s share of healthcare money that Schumer and the Democrats are asking for is for the continuation of pandemic-era Affordable Care Act subsidies that pad health insurance company profits, as most recipients also qualify for employer-sponsored plans. But according to the Congressional Budget Office, the immigration-related provisions of the Democratic Party’s other healthcare demands will come to almost $100 billion over the next 10 years.

Democrats and their media allies counter that illegal immigrants are already statutorily forbidden from receiving either Affordable Care Act subsidies or Medicaid. This is true, except for the loopholes, with the biggest one being that illegal immigrants who have been granted “parole” status for at least one year are eligible for Medicaid benefits. 

EDITORIAL: IF EVERYTHING IS A NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT, NOTHING IS

Former President Joe Biden actively granted parole status to over 1 million inadmissible aliens through his Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela and CBP One App parole programs. Countless other illegal immigrants were also granted “humanitarian parole” after they were caught and released into the United States after illegally crossing the southern border. Jose Ibarra, Laken Riley’s murderer, was given parole status by Biden when he was released into the country. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act cut Medicaid for illegal immigrants like Ibarra. Democrats are shutting down the government to restore that funding.

The Schumer shutdown is not about responsible governance; it is about optics. With his own base abandoning him, Schumer is desperate to appear combative against Trump, even if it means holding government operations hostage. Democrats claim they are defending healthcare, but in reality, they are demanding billions to restore benefits for illegal immigrants Biden unilaterally paroled into the country. That is a losing fight with the American people, and it exposes how hollow Schumer’s leadership has become. Eventually, Democrats will crack, the government will reopen, and Schumer will be left weaker than ever before.