Democrat-induced shutdown poised to break record as key programs lapse



The Democrat-induced government shutdown is set to break the record for the longest shutdown in history.

Senate Democrats blocked the GOP's clean funding resolution on September 30, initiating the government shutdown on October 1. Over a month has passed since then, with the shutdown inching toward the 35-day record after over a dozen failed Senate votes.

'REPUBLICANS, BE TOUGH AND SMART!'

If this streak of failed votes continues through midnight Wednesday as expected, the government shutdown will have surpassed the previous record-holding 35-day shutdown from President Donald Trump's first term.

Although neither party has indicated that a deal is on the horizon, Trump has urged Republicans to deploy the nuclear option to bring the shutdown to a close.

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Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

"TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, NOT JUST FOR THE SHUTDOWN, BUT FOR EVERYTHING ELSE," Trump said in a Truth Social post. "WE WILL GET ALL OF OUR COMMON SENSE POLICIES APPROVED (VOTER ID, ANYONE?) AND MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! REMEMBER, THE DEMOCRATS WILL DO IT IMMEDIATELY, AS SOON AS THEY GET THE CHANCE. OUR DOING IT WILL NOT GIVE THEM THE CHANCE."

"REPUBLICANS, BE TOUGH AND SMART! THE DEMS ARE CRAZED LUNATICS, THEY WILL NOT OPEN UP OUR COUNTRY NO MATTER HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IRREPARABLY HARMED!"

Trump's calls to eliminate the filibuster would allow Republicans to pass their funding bill with a simple majority as opposed to the 60-vote threshold currently in place. Only three Democrats have consistently crossed the aisle and voted with Republicans to reopen the government, falling short of the 60 votes needed.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, an institutionalist, has always been against eliminating the filibuster. Despite pressure from the president, Thune maintains that his "position on the importance of the legislative filibuster is unchanged."

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Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

While Congress shows no signs of progress, millions of Americans lost key government benefits like food assistance programs that lapsed over the weekend. Programs like SNAP affect citizens across the country, but Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins is taking the opportunity to clean house, ensuring illegal aliens are not taking advantage of the program.

"I'm glad to see the Trump administration is working to get to the bottom of why 41 million people are on SNAP and why this program exploded on Joe Biden's watch," said Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has repeatedly voted with Democrats against the funding bill, in a post on X. "It's time to root out the waste, fraud, and abuse."

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Democrats admit to weaponizing shutdown for ‘leverage’ against GOP while Americans feel the sting



The Democrats’ narrative pinning blame for the government shutdown on Republicans is losing steam.

Left-leaning lawmakers have openly admitted that they are using the impending expiration of SNAP benefits as “leverage” against their GOP counterparts. This tactic has ignited significant backlash, even from those who typically align with them, including CNN anchor Jake Tapper and the American Federation of Government Employees.

‘Who’s winning, who’s losing? Well, 100% America loses with this.’

The fallout is increasing the pressure on congressional Democrats to work across the aisle to pass a clean continuing resolution, averting disruptions for SNAP recipients as benefits are set to lapse this Saturday.

“Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House. Frankly, this is our only moment of leverage,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told C-SPAN on Thursday in reference to the government shutdown. Coons admitted that it was “a very unpleasant tool to use.”

Senate Republicans called Coons’ comments “absolutely deranged.”

“Chris Coons believes that denying Americans their SNAP benefits may be ‘unpleasant,’ but it’s worth doing because it gives Democrats political ‘leverage,’” Republicans wrote.

RELATED: Democrats’ shutdown blame game backfires — even Jake Tapper calls them out on SNAP benefits

John Fetterman. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.) similarly admitted during an interview in mid-October that her party was using the shutdown as leverage.

“Shutdowns are terrible, and of course, there will be families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leverage times we have,” Clark stated.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) told journalist Nicholas Ballasy this week that the shutdown is “the only lever we have.”

Ballasy also asked Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) for his thoughts on the ongoing stalemate. Fetterman was one of the few Democrats to break ranks and vote for Republicans’ proposed continuing resolution.

“I’m not going to describe the lives of millions of Americans as, like, a euphemism, as ‘leverage.’ I mean, this isn’t a political game,” Fetterman told Ballasy on Tuesday.

“Who’s winning, who’s losing? Well, 100% America loses with this,” he concluded.

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John Thune. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) used his time on the Senate floor on Wednesday to call out Democrat lawmakers for their controversial admissions.

Thune mentioned a comment from Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who previously said, “Every day gets better for us,” when referring to the shutdown.

“Lest there be any question about who is responsible for shutting the government down, make no mistake about it: These guys are the ones who are out there bragging about it ‘getting better for us every single day,’ or, ‘we have more leverage now,’” Thune stated.

Thune explained that 60 votes are required to pass the clean continuing resolution, noting that it has failed 13 times with only 55 votes.

“So, the question is, are there five people over there with a backbone? Five courageous Democrats?” he added.

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