A couple of weeks ago, a senior Democratic aide told CNN that as long as public perception remained in their favor, the party wouldn't concede on the shutdown, short of "planes falling out of the sky." They thought they were untouchable—as long as the public stayed on their side. But fast-forward to now, and that smug calculation is collapsing. Air traffic control issues are already snarling travel plans across the country, and the Democrats’ “no surrender” posture suddenly looks reckless. The public isn’t buying the spin anymore, and the party is finding it harder and harder to justify why they’re the ones refusing to fund the government.
House Republicans passed a clean continuing resolution last month that would fund the government through late November and give lawmakers breathing room to hammer out a longer-term deal for fiscal year 2026. But Senate Democrats, with only three exceptions, have repeatedly blocked it. They are holding out for their wish list, which includes extending those Obamacare subsidies and reopening a loophole that would allow states to hand out free healthcare to illegal immigrants. It is the same kind of hardball tactics that Democratic leaders like Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer used to savage Republicans for using back when the roles were reversed.
Democrats are learning the hard way that it’s tough to maintain the moral high ground when they don’t actually have it. That hypocrisy was on full display when Sen. Ruben Gallego tied himself in knots on CNN after Kasie Hunt asked him a simple question: Why is it suddenly okay for Democrats to do exactly what they spent years condemning Republicans for doing? The Arizona Democrat had no good answer—and frankly, it was painful to watch.
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Hunt did not let Gallego off easy. She pointed out that Democrats used to argue that the proper way to handle things was to negotiate policy outside of a shutdown, not during one. She even mentioned she has neighbors in the area who work for the federal government and are now relying on food banks. With Thanksgiving around the corner, Hunt asked why it was suddenly acceptable to drag this out when Democrats used to insist it was not.
Gallego did not hesitate to offer what he called an easy answer: Blame Donald Trump. He claimed that norms no longer apply in the Trump era, and then pivoted to talking about renovations at the White House East Wing, as if that had anything to do with the question. When Hunt tried to follow up, Gallego cut her off with a dismissive wave.
He went on to insist that the stakes are too high to play by the old rules, citing the 24 million people whose insurance premiums could double if the ACA subsidies expire. But when Hunt pointed out that it was Democrats who set up those subsidies to expire in the first place, Gallego admitted it was true. Then he essentially admitted the quiet part out loud: if this shutdown puts Republicans in a difficult political position, that is a good thing for Democrats. He wrapped up by saying Democrats are no longer going to follow Senate norms, especially when dealing with this presidency and this administration.
CNN's Kasie Hunt presses Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) over Democrats' role in government shutdown as she warns her neighbors are relying on food banks.
— Zachary Leeman (@WritingLeeman) October 28, 2025
"Didn't Democrats set that up in the bill YOU passed?" pic.twitter.com/1B7fCvwQVz
The shutdown is now in its fifth week. Even the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 800,000 federal workers, is urging Democrats to pass the Republican continuing resolution that would fund the government until November 21. AFGE President Everett Kelley put out a statement saying it is time to pass a straightforward continuing resolution and put an end to this shutdown, with no half measures and no games. Democrats are blocking the clean bill mainly because they want Republicans to agree to a laundry list of radical left-wing priorities, like $3 million for circumcisions and vasectomies in Zambia, $500,000 for electric buses in Rwanda, $3.6 million for pastry cooking classes and dance focus groups aimed at male prostitutes in Haiti, $6 million for media organizations supporting Palestinians, $833,000 for transgender programs in Nepal, $300,000 for a pride parade in Lesotho, $882,000 for social media mentorship in Serbia, and $4.2 million for LGBTQI initiatives across the Western Balkans and Uganda. And, of course, the Obamacare subsidies and free healthcare for illegals.
Recent polling shows the shutdown is hurting Democrats more than Republicans, which means they’re losing control of the narrative and running out of excuses for their stubbornness. How much longer do they really think they can hold out when voters are realizing who’s really to blame here? Even the mainstream media is starting to admit what’s obvious to everyone else: Democrats overplayed their hand. Their strategy of holding the government hostage to protect spending for illegal immigrants and bloated pet projects has blown up in their faces—and the political fallout is only getting worse by the day.
