Democrats Are Serious About a Shutdown “At some point you’ve got to have a goddamn backbone.”

[Morrison71]

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/03/04/house-democrats-shutdown-doge-00205584

When President Donald Trump announced last week he wanted Congress to "pass a clean, temporary government funding Bill," that should have dropped the chances of a federal shutdown to near zero.

Democrats of all persuasions, even some centrists who have long been firmly anti-shutdown, feel that voting for a "clean" spending bill would be tacitly blessing Musk's controversial work. Denying Republicans the votes they'll need to keep the agencies open, they believe, would be the lesser evil.

"Nobody wants a shutdown, but they don't feel like aiding and abetting what's happening, with Musk and Trump taking a wrecking ball to health care in particular," said one senior House Democratic aide, who like others I spoke to was granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal party conversations. "Why would we be complicit in that?"
Click to shrink...

But that's not how House Democrats are talking, even in private. During a recent meeting between Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his committee leaders, top appropriator Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut steamed about how Speaker Mike Johnson was going to try to make them swallow the clean funding extension.
"No ****ing way!" she shouted, a person in the room told me. Jeffries didn't push back, and now his leadership team is gauging whether his members are willing to take this fight all the way.

Usually shutdown saber-rattling originates on the fringes of the two parties and gains momentum until leaders just can't ignore it, lest they risk their own jobs. This time, however, the foment is coming from the leadership table itself — where there is growing anger over the lightning-fast Trump-Musk campaign to gut federal agencies and the glacial pace of court action to stop it.

Republicans control the House, Senate, and WH.

@delauro.house.gov is right: no f***ing way should we lend a hand to Republicans as they actively dismantle the federal government.

 

[Morrison71]

I would love to be proven wrong wrong, but they don’t have spines.

 

[Morrison71]

No spine

https://www.axios.com/2025/03/06/senate-democrats-schumer-government-shutdown

Senate Democrats are indicating they won't tank a short-term government funding package, barring any eleventh-hour GOP surprises.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), with President Trump's help, is steadily building House GOP support to extend last year's spending levels through Sept. 30 without any significant policy changes.

If the GOP can get a clean continuing resolution (CR) through the House, and avoid multiple GOP defectors in the Senate, it should be doable to get enough Dems on board to reach 60 votes, multiple sources tell Axios.

The math leaves Schumer with lots of breathing room to let other irate Democrats express their fury with Trump.
"I don't want to see another year of them dismembering the government," Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) told Axios on Wednesday when asked whether he would support a stopgap package.

"It's not something that I want to see," Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) said on Wednesday.

 

[NorthernHawkeye]

Republicans control the House, Senate, and WH.

From the article:
Jeffries over the weekend accused GOP leaders of “walking away” from funding talks, arguing that it’s on the GOP alone to fund the government since they control everything.

Top Democrats know as well as anyone that’s not exactly true: Appropriations has to be bipartisan given the 60-vote threshold in the Senate, which is the leverage they have long used to counter Republicans’ proposed spending cuts. And that argument isn’t the kind of resonant message that’s capable of ultimately winning over the public.

 

[NorthernHawkeye]

Something for dems to consider. The federal workforce leans left. They don't recieve pay during a shutdown. Non essential employees stay at home during the shutdown. In the past those people that stayed at home were still paid after the fact. It's possible that as part of negotiations to open the government back up, they will not agree to back pay.

A real FAFO scenario.

 

[Jerome Silberman]

They should come up with 3 non-negotiables regarding the separation of powers and Congress' role in allocating funding and then get on board. They're public approval can't get much worse so they might as well try to claw back a little power from the executive for the good of all.

 

[lucas80]

From the article:
Jeffries over the weekend accused GOP leaders of “walking away” from funding talks, arguing that it’s on the GOP alone to fund the government since they control everything.

Top Democrats know as well as anyone that’s not exactly true: Appropriations has to be bipartisan given the 60-vote threshold in the Senate, which is the leverage they have long used to counter Republicans’ proposed spending cuts. And that argument isn’t the kind of resonant message that’s capable of ultimately winning over the public.

Typical Northern. The GQP has a gun to the head of the hostage and are screaming that they are going to pull the trigger, but, his response is, "Why aren't the Dems being reasonable and being partners in the discussions"?
You still hiding from the Chauvin thread, Bro? You got slapped around pretty hard in that one today

 

[seminole97]

 

[boxahawks]

Never been opposed to a government shutdown, no matter who's in charge. The goal though, should be to devise a good plan for the government, not to make one party look bad. Sadly, that just doesn't seem to be the case anymore, again, no matter who's in charge.

 

[SoDakHawk]

Something for dems to consider. The federal workforce leans left. They don't recieve pay during a shutdown. Non essential employees stay at home during the shutdown. In the past those people that stayed at home were still paid after the fact. It's possible that as part of negotiations to open the government back up, they will not agree to back pay.

A real FAFO scenario.

Nope. It's a law now that back pay is paid.

Trump did say that this wouldn't be like an Obama shutdown, where the shutdowns were maximized to increase the lack of services. Trump will make more people "essential" and keep more things running to minimize the impact.

 

[funksouljon]

So wouldn't a fed shutdown help Musk and DOGErs prove that their work is god's work?

Don't have to fire them if the jobs all just stop.

 

[NorthernHawkeye]

Nope. It's a law now that back pay is paid.

Trump did say that this wouldn't be like an Obama shutdown, where the shutdowns were maximized to increase the lack of services. Trump will make more people "essential" and keep more things running to minimize the impact.

You’re right.

Salaries: Furloughed federal workers and employees who have been deemed essential and forced to work during a lapse in appropriations will not be paid during a shutdown. But thanks to a 2019 law signed as part of the measure to end the 35-day shutdown, they all will automatically be granted back pay to cover the shutdown once funding is restored. In previous appropriations lapses, Congress had to approve back pay for furloughed federal workers following each shutdown, but that process has since been automated.

Your guide to pay and benefits during a shutdown

Congress has just hours to reach an agreement to fund the government past midnight Friday, after President-elect Trump and his confidante Elon Musk scuttled a bipartisan deal earlier this week.

www.govexec.com