The latest shutdown showdown in Washington has exposed exactly who is playing politics and who is trying to clean up the mess. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House GOP leaders have been blunt: Democrats are blocking a straightforward stopgap that would keep the government running, and the country is paying the price.
Thune has publicly held up the Republican continuing resolution and pointed to an obvious path to keep troops and services funded — only for Senate Democrats to refuse to even consider it. That refusal, coming as active-duty military pay and critical services hang in the balance, is not just stubbornness; it is a reckless gamble with people’s livelihoods and national security.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer ripped into the Democrats on national television, calling out their refusal to reopen the government and labeling the partisan stall tactics for what they are: a betrayal of responsibility. Emmer’s anger is justified; when lawmakers choose photo-ops and leverage fights over straightforward funding, the American people lose faith in the entire system.
Republican leaders have signaled a painful strategy: they will not paper over the consequences if Democrats refuse to act, even as the optics grow worse for both parties. That is a hardline stance, but it reflects a simple principle — pressure is the only leverage left when one side refuses to negotiate in good faith. Voters should remember which party kept a clean funding bill on the table and which side walked away.
Democrats insist any deal must include expanded subsidies to the ACA marketplace and other policy wins, even as their rejection of a clean continuing resolution threatens everyday Americans. This is classic Washington dysfunction: demand extraneous policy concessions while holding hostage the very functions of government, then feign outrage when people suffer. The country deserves better than hostage politics and rhetoric disguised as principle.
Conservative leaders like Thune and Emmer are right to call this out loudly and to demand accountability from those who refuse to govern. Elected officials exist to keep the lights on, pay the troops, and protect citizens — not to use shutdowns as bargaining chips for pet priorities. If Washington hopes to restore trust, leaders must reopen the government now and then settle policy fights in the open, where voters can judge the trade-offs honestly.
