November, 2025
Washington — The latest U.S. government shutdown began last month with Republicans and Democrats squaring off over whether to pass a clean Republican continuing resolution to fund the government or to accommodate Democrats' efforts to deal with a looming crisis in affordable health care. With neither side budging, the shutdown has spiraled out of control to snarl the nation's air traffic, end SNAP and WIC food benefits, permanently terminate thousands of employees, miss payrolls for thousands of others, violate multiple appropriations laws, halt operations of the House of Representatives, and disenfranchise representation of all voters in a key congressional district.
Meanwhile, the President is not proposing compromise to reopen the government but is viewing the chaos as an opportunity to end minority party rights in the Senate, foreshadowing one-party rule with no restraints on his agenda at least until 2027. If not that, the President may re-open certain parts of the government he wishes by directing DOJ to produce a legal opinion that allows him to ignore the federal Antideficiency Act. Both of these options expand presidential powers enormously. Both may be beyond meaningful judicial remedy.
To end this dangerous spiral, which could lead to an end to our democracy, Democrats should immediately name a date in mid-November by which they will re-open the whole government, come hell or high water, by voting for a clean continuing resolution. They should propose two motions before supporting a clean resolution, however, but make clear that the outcome of those motions will not stop them from taking charge to be the responsible party to end the shutdown and its growing chaos. One motion would be a last attempt to deal with affordable health care. The other would create a Select Committee to review why the rise of partisanship has eclipsed loyalty to the Constitution, and what can be done to reverse it.
Senate Republicans would be wise to support both Democratic motions. Republicans do not need a vote pricing millions of Americans out of health care without the excuse of Democratic intransigence over the shutdown. They also should see the value in establishing a Select Committee with representation from both parties. If they do not agree, Democrats should move ahead on their own in a Select Committee format to hear from panels of experts, along with their potential presidential candidates (especially from popular Democratic governors who have won elections in Republican states). The goal of Democrats would be to come out of the process re-establishing themselves not only as the party of the working class once again, but as Constitutional Democrats who place our Constitution and the rule of law above partisanship. Americans will embrace this enthusiastically.
Republicans would be foolish to try to celebrate these Democratic actions as their own victory, as if Americans will want to rejoice over losing their health care, or applaud Republicans for putting party loyalty above all as the country slips further from its democratic moorings.
