Category: Mike johnson
Trump officially ends ‘pathetic’ Democrats’ record-breaking shutdown
President Donald Trump officially ended the Democrats’ record-breaking shutdown after House Republicans passed the funding bill Wednesday night.
Trump signed the GOP’s continuing resolution into law after the House passed the bill in a 222-209 vote, bringing the 43-day shutdown to a close. The House vote largely fell on party lines, with 216 Republicans voting in favor and 207 Democrats voting against the funding bill. Notably, two Republicans voted against the bill and six Democrats voted in favor of it.
‘Don’t forget what they’ve done to our country.’
“People were hurt so badly,” Trump said from the Oval Office Wednesday night. “Nobody’s ever seen anything like this one. This was a no-brainer. This was an easy extension. But they didn’t want to do it the easy way. They had to do it the hard way.”
“They look very bad, the Democrats do,” Trump added.
Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Trump urged Americans across the country to remember the pain inflicted by the Democrat shutdown when the 2026 midterms come around.
“I just want to tell the American people: You should not forget this,” Trump said. “When we come up to midterms and other things, don’t forget what they’ve done to our country.”
Democrats initiated the government shutdown after blocking the GOP’s clean continuing resolution from passing in the Senate before the September 30 funding deadline.
After prolonging the shutdown for over 40 days, eight Senate Democrats caved and passed the funding bill in the Senate, sparking intraparty outrage for agreeing to a “pathetic” political deal.
The only concession Democrats managed to secure was a reversal of reduction-in-force notices implemented during the shutdown and the prevention of any more RIFs through January 30, the day the new funding deal expires. This affects only about 4,200 of the roughly 150,000 federal layoffs that have taken place during President Donald Trump’s second term.
RELATED: Democrat senator makes stunning admission about Obamacare failures
Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
The main reason Democrats shut the government down in the first place was to renegotiate Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year. Rather than securing any commitments from Republicans to negotiate or amend any health-care-related policies, Democrats walked away with a promise from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to hold a vote on extending the subsidies.
This is the same deal that was on the table since day one of the government shutdown.
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House Democrats cave, vote for GOP bill to end record-breaking shutdown
House Republicans passed a government funding bill late Wednesday night, bringing Democrats’ record-breaking shutdown closer to a welcome end.
The continuing resolution passed in a 222-209 vote, with 216 Republicans voting in favor and 209 Democrats voting against the funding bill. Two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Greg Steube of Florida, voted against the bill.
‘Democrats gained nothing from their shutdown while hardworking families paid the price.’
Several Democrats also crossed the aisle, with a handful voting in favor of reopening the government. Democrat Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, who is retiring at the end of this term, bucked his party, alongside Reps. Adam Gray of California, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Don Davis of North Carolina, Henry Cuellar of Texas, and Tom Suozzi of New York.
The resolution is now headed to President Donald Trump’s desk, where he is expected to sign the bill into law Wednesday night and reopen the government.
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
The House vote took place just days after eight Democrat senators caved over the weekend and voted alongside Republicans to pass the funding bill in the Senate Monday night. These Democrats include Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Angus King (I) of Maine, and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada.
Although some lawmakers crossed the aisle to reopen the government, Democrats ultimately failed to secure commitments from Republicans to negotiate health care policy.
“For over six weeks, Democrats held our country hostage over demands for health care for illegal aliens and to prove to their base they could ‘stand up’ to President Trump,” Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger (Texas) told Blaze News.
“Let me be clear: Democrats gained nothing from their shutdown while hardworking families paid the price,” Pfluger added. “Now, it is time to get back to governing and delivering on the mandate we were given by the American people last November.”
RELATED: Senate Republicans pass key deal with Democrat defectors as end to record-long shutdown draws near
Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The reason Democrats shut down the government in the first place was to force the GOP to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year.
Democrats fell short, securing only a commitment from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to hold a vote on extending the subsidies. Notably, this offer was available to Democrats on day one of the government shutdown.
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‘Pathetic’ Senate Democrats cave, advancing key shutdown vote and prompting intraparty uproar: ‘It’s a surrender’
Over a month into the record-breaking shutdown, enough Senate Democrats finally caved to advance a key vote, sparking outrage within the party.
Eight Senate Democrats broke from their party late Sunday night to break the filibuster in a 60-40 vote, advancing key legislation and putting the government back on track to reopen after a record 41-day stalemate. The Senate is expected to formally pass the legislation Monday, when the continuing resolution will be punted back to the House.
‘America deserves better.’
Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire joined Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Angus King (I) of Maine, and Catherine Cortez Masto, who have consistently voted to reopen the government for the last six weeks. Notably, only Shaheen and Durbin are up for re-election in 2026, and both are retiring.
Although these other rogue Democrats are electorally safe for the next several years, many of their colleagues have ridiculed them for bucking the party and cutting a deal with Republicans.
RELATED: Democrat senator makes stunning admission about Obamacare failures
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
After 15 failed votes to reopen the government, Democrats folded and finally came to the negotiating table. Party negotiators walked away with a continuing resolution to fund the government through January 30 featuring a reversal on reduction-in-force notices issued after October 1 and also barring future RIFs from being issued through the duration of the CR.
While Republicans made concessions on RIFs, Democrats ultimately were unable to push through any meaningful policy goals and fell short on their call to extend Obamacare subsidies. In response, high-profile Democrats tore into their Senate colleagues for caving, calling it a “surrender.”
“Pathetic,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office said in a post on X. “This isn’t a deal. It’s a surrender. Don’t bend the knee!”
“America deserves better,” Newsom added in another post on X.
RELATED: Senate Republicans betray Trump, help Democrats try to block tariffs
Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
It’s not just rumored presidential hopefuls who took a stand against their Democrat Senate allies. Many of the eight defectors’ colleagues came out against their vote, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
“There’s no way to sugarcoat what happened tonight,” Democrat Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said in a post on X. “And my fear is that Trump gets stronger, not weaker, because of this acquiescence. I’m angry — like you. But I choose to keep fighting.”
“To my mind, this was a very, very bad vote,” independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said in a post on X.
“Just on Tuesday, we had an election, all over this country. And what the election showed is that the American people want us to stand up to Trumpism. … That is what the American people wanted. But tonight, that is not what happened.”
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