By Emmie Meeks
Opinion Editor
The longest shutdown in United States’ government history finally came to a close on Nov. 12 after Congress pushed through a bill to President Donald Trump’s desk. With Trump’s signature, the 43-day shutdown may have ended; however, the repercussions have not.
While Congress was stubbornly placing blame across the aisle, millions of Americans were left floundering. Yet, the Democrats’ strategy was working before eight Senators broke rank.
As Democrats pointed fingers across the aisle to criticize Republicans’ disinterest in protecting Americans and withholding food assistance programs and slashing health benefits, the Left made no real proposal that would put their money where their mouth was, literally.
No one won.
According to The Associated Press, with the bill the House pushed through to Trump’s signature, Democrats didn’t get the health subsidiaries they demanded, nor did the Republican image emerge unscathed.
Worse, Americans took the biggest loss.
The agreement only includes bipartisan bills from the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund parts of the government like the legislative branch, food aid, and veterans’ programs; the rest of the funding is only guaranteed until the end of January. Meaning, a little more than two months after the catastrophic shutdown, another stalemate could occur, further harming millions of citizens inadvertently caught in the political crossfire.
According to The Associated Press, “the shutdown created a cascade of troubles for many Americans. Federal workers missed paychecks, causing financial and emotional stress. Travelers had their flights delayed and at times canceled. People who rely on safety net programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program saw their benefits stopped, and Americans throughout the country lined up for meals at food banks.”
Americans are not pawns for politicians to play with.
According to NPR, 1.4 million federal employees went without pay for six weeks, and approximately half of them had to keep working without their paychecks. Hundreds of thousands were placed on a furlough.
Americans’ attitudes toward the shutdown favored Democrats and NBC polling showed most blamed Republicans. These attitudes were reflected in numerous key Democratic victories across the nation on election day.
Democrats stood firmly in support of funding for benefits like the Supplemental Nutritional Aid Program and the Women, Infants, and Children Program, and subsidies protected under the Affordable Care Act.
“Democrats said the shutdown was about the subsidies, but for most of them, it wasn’t. It was about Trump’s authoritarianism. It was about showing their base — and themselves — that they could fight back. It was about treating an abnormal political moment abnormally,” New York Times Columnist Ezra Klein wrote.
On one hand, Democrats’ effort to combat authoritarianism was patriotic. On the other, they chose to use Americans as pawns, leaving their livelihoods to hang in the balance just to prove a point. Their efforts were too little too late.
Americans have been tuned into Trump’s authoritarian policies since 2016, yet, Democrats have done little to put an actual stop to his reign of terror; they have rolled over and accepted their fate.
The established Democrats are outdated. They’ve done little to actively combat Trump’s policies and Project 2025. The time has come for younger Democrats, encompassing those under the age of 50, to step up and stand firm for their principles; they should learn from their over-established colleagues, denounce Super PACs, and actually fight for the American people.
Actions speak louder than words, and right now all Democrats are doing is talking.
Photo Caption: Eight Senate Democrats break rank to end the government shutdown.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons