Democratic Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont made a shocking admission on the Senate floor while trying to defend the Democrat shutdown.

Congress is now well into a record-long government shutdown, and it all started when Democrats demanded an extension on Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year. Even though this Obamacare extension is at the core of Democrats' professed opposition to reopening the government, even Welch acknowledged the failures of the very system they want to uphold.

'Only three Democrats have crossed the aisle.'

"I owe you an answer on why it is I'm standing here today asking to extend something that was temporary," Welch said. "Here's the reason."

"We did fail to bring down the cost of health care."

The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, was signed into law in 2010 and began to be implemented a few years later.

Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images

In addition to propping up a flawed health care system, Democrats have also insisted on passing their own $1.5 trillion spending bill that would reverse every legislative accomplishment from President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act as soon as they reopened the government.

Meanwhile, Senate Republicans have held over a dozen votes on their clean continuing resolution that would reopen and fund the government at Biden-era spending levels that Democrats overwhelmingly voted for in the past.

Allison Robbert/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Despite Republicans' attempt to pass a clean nonpartisan funding bill, only three Democrats have crossed the aisle and voted to reopen the government. Because of the 60-vote threshold, Republicans need at least five more Senate Democrats to vote in favor of their bill, which seems less and less likely as the shutdown continues.

Because of this stalemate, Trump has repeatedly called for Senate Majority Leader John Thune to eliminate the filibuster, which would allow Republicans to pass their funding bill with a simple majority. Thune, a longtime institutionalist, has always defended the filibuster and has been firm about keeping it.

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Sen. Markwayne Mullin Says Schumer Squashed Government Reopening Until After Election

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) held a closed-door meeting in which he squashed his party's plans to reopen the government until after Tuesday's elections, fearing that a deal before the election could dampen Democratic turnout, according to Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R., Okla.).

The post Sen. Markwayne Mullin Says Schumer Squashed Government Reopening Until After Election appeared first on .

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.

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."

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 Have Put Republicans In Win-Win Situation Just In Time For Midterms

They're in denial about the reality of their political situation

Trump urges Senate to deploy the 'Nuclear Option' on filibuster

President Donald Trump is urging Senate leadership to initiate the "nuclear option" to finally bring the Democrat-induced government shutdown to an end.

Trump called for the Senate to nuke the filibuster one month into the shutdown as Democrats show no signs of flipping. For the last 31 days, all but three Democrats have voted to keep the government closed, leaving the government five votes short of reopening.

'We should avoid that at all costs.'

"It is now time for the Republicans to play their 'TRUMP CARD,' and go for what is called the Nuclear Option — Get rid of the Filibuster, and get rid of it, NOW!" Trump said in a Truth Social post Thursday night.

"Now WE are in power, and if we did what we should be doing, it would IMMEDIATELY end this ridiculous, Country destroying 'SHUT DOWN,'" Trump added.

Trump also claimed that if Republicans do not end the filibuster, the Democrats will someday.

"If the Democrats ever came back into power, which would be made easier for them if the Republicans are not using the Great Strength and Policies made available to us by ending the Filibuster, the Democrats will exercise their rights, and it will be done in the first day they take office, regardless of whether or not we do it," Trump warned.

Trump noted that just two senators — Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona — prevented Democrats from ending the filibuster during Biden's term in office.

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Although Trump's demands often dictate the party's next move, nuking the filibuster has not been a popular play among Republicans.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has been a strong institutionalist and vocal defender of the filibuster, which essentially gives the minority party veto power on legislation unless 60 senators agree to pass it. In the early days of the shutdown, Thune admitted that nuking the filibuster was a "possibility" but strongly advised against it.

“Well, there’s always that possibility,” Thune told reporters. “We put up with it, obviously, in his first term as president. I could see at some point that being a potential conversation. But that’s not good for anybody. ... We should avoid that at all costs.”

Thune's Republican colleague Sen. John Curtis of Utah similarly cautioned against eliminating the filibuster, saying it "forces us to find common ground in the Senate."

"Power changes hands, but principles shouldn’t," Curtis said in a post on X. "I’m a firm no on eliminating it."

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Trump, on the other hand, has a long-standing record criticizing the filibuster. In 2017, Trump called the filibuster a "joke," saying it was "killing" the Republican majority in the Senate at the time.

With no end in sight, the government shutdown could very well surpass the record-breaking 35-day shutdown in Trump's first term.

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Senate Republicans betray Trump, help Democrats try to block tariffs

A handful of Senate Republicans defied President Donald Trump in a contentious vote to block the administration's tariffs on Brazil.

The Senate narrowly passed a resolution Tuesday night to zero out Trump's 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports in a 52-48 vote. Five Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — aided all 47 Democrats to pass the resolution.

The resolution is likely to die in the House before ever making it to Trump's desk.

This rebuke comes from Trump's most vocal critics in the Senate, all of whom have bucked the administration in the past.

Paul has repeatedly voted against Republican funding bills, including the continuing resolution that would reopen the government, all but guaranteeing he is disinvited from many White House events his colleagues attend. Tillis, who announced he would be retiring following this term, also voted against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Collins, Murkowski, and McConnell have been a thorn in Trump's side, repeatedly voting against key nominees.

Anna Rose Layden/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The resolution is likely to die in the House before ever making it to Trump's desk. Even if Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) were to hold a vote on the resolution, the Republican majority would likely side with the administration.

Notably, this is not the first time Republicans defied the White House to block Trump's tariffs.

Vice President JD Vance had to cast a tiebreaking vote back in May to block a similar resolution that would have halted Trump's tariffs. At the time, Murkowski, Collins, and Paul were the three lawmakers who went against the grain.

Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

"Farmers are hurting. Inflation is squeezing every worker. And tariffs are making it worse," Paul said in a recent post on X. "We can’t print enough money to paper over bad policy."

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Here's every time Senate Democrats voted to keep the government shut down

Nearly a month into the shutdown, Senate Democrats have refused to reopen the government over a dozen times. Even still, Democrats are pointing the finger at Republicans.

Although Republicans hold a majority in both chambers of Congress, there's been a hang-up in the Senate. Instead of a simple majority, the Senate actually needs 60 votes in order to pass the continuing resolution. Republicans do hold a 53-seat majority in the Senate, but they need the help of at least seven Democrats to reopen the government.

Senate Democrats have effectively voted to continue withholding paychecks from federal workers and critical benefits from the American people over a dozen times.

This is easier said than done. When the Senate voted on the GOP's clean continuing resolution on September 30, only three Democrats crossed the aisle in an attempt to keep the government open: Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, and Angus King of Maine.

Both Cortez Masto and King origianally voted against the bill on September 19 but flipped their votes ahead of the funding deadline. Notably, Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has consistently voted with Democrats.

As a result, the government shut down and has remained closed ever since midnight of October 1.

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The Republicans' funding bill is clean and entirely non-ideological, while the Democrats' hyper-partisan alternative boasts a hefty $1.5 trillion price tag. Democrats have also insisted on renegotiating the Obamacare subsidies despite the fact that they won't expire until the end of the year.

Now 28 days into the shutdown, Senate Democrats have effectively voted to continue withholding paychecks from federal workers and critical benefits from the American people over a dozen times. Here is a breakdown of every time Democrats voted to keep the government shut down.

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Friday, September 19, 2025, Roll Call No. 528 (44-48)
Tuesday, September 30, 2025, Roll Call No. 535 (55-45)
Wednesday, October 1, 2025, Roll Call No. 537 (55-45)
Friday, October 3, 2025, Roll Call No. 543 (54-44)
Monday, October 6, 2025, Roll Call No. 545 (52-42)
Wednesday, October 8, 2025, Roll Call No. 551 (54-45)
Thursday, October 9, 2025, Roll Call No. 558 (54-45)
Tuesday, October 14, 2025, Roll Call No. 571 (49-45)
Wednesday, October 15, 2025, Roll Call No. 572 (51-44)
Thursday, October 16, 2025, Roll Call No. 573 (51-45)
Monday, October 20, 2025, Roll Call No. 576 (50-43)
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, Roll Call No. 581 (54-46)
Tuesday, October 28, 2025, Roll Call No. 590 (54-45)

Since the shutdown began, no Democrat votes have changed. The slight changes in vote tallies can be attributed to attendance.

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Trump admin blames Senate Democrats for SNAP debacle: 'The well has run dry'

Under President Donald Trump and Secretary Brooke Rollins, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is not messing around. The department recently updated its website to include a text banner excoriating Senate Democrats for refusing to end the government shutdown, which will trigger a cutoff of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits on Nov. 1.

'They can continue to hold out for health care for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government.'

The USDA website gets right to the point: "Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program. ... Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01."

SNAP runs through USDA and is funded through the Farm Bill, which is renewed every five years. The bill was last renewed in 2018, expiring in 2023. Congress has voted to extend it twice, with the last extension lasting through September 2025.

USDA managed to use leftover funds to keep SNAP funded through October, but now those funds are running out.

Photo by Bloomberg / Getty Images

USDA did not mince words in placing the blame for the SNAP cutoff: "We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for health care for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition."

Senate Democrats have been holding out in hopes of extending Affordable Care Act benefits past the end of 2025 and reducing cuts made by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The SNAP program costs the federal government around $10.5 billion per month. About 42 million people in the United States receive SNAP benefits.

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Democrat senator makes stunning admission about Obamacare failures

Sen. Markwayne Mullin Says Schumer Squashed Government Reopening Until After Election

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

Trump urges Senate to deploy the 'Nuclear Option' on filibuster

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Here's every time Senate Democrats voted to keep the government shut down

Trump admin blames Senate Democrats for SNAP debacle: 'The well has run dry'

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