Democrats Want a Shutdown, and Republicans Should Act Accordingly

Washington is barreling toward another funding deadline, and Senate Democrats seem increasingly willing to use the threat of a government shutdown as political leverage. The biggest mistake Senate Republicans could make is assuming that Democrats share their interest in avoiding such a shutdown and the harm it would do to everyday Americans.

They don’t.

Democrats have endlessly proven they are willing to sacrifice the well-being of the American people to advance their radical agenda. Democrats shut down the government for 43 days at the end of last year and refused to fund parts of the Department of Homeland Security for most of this year, forcing Republicans to use budget reconciliation to fund border enforcement.

Even though Senate Republicans eventually got the government funded, they burned eight months of valuable floor time that could have been used to advance other Republican priorities, like the SAVE America Act or an affordability-focused reconciliation package.

Senate Democrats are already refusing to operate in good faith ahead of the  fiscal year 2027 government funding deadline. Feeling emboldened by their previous shutdown tactics, they plan to run the exact same play ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Rather than waiting until September, Republicans should force votes on a continuing resolution (CR) immediately upon returning from the Independence Day recess. Such a resolution would be a temporary funding measure passed by Congress to keep the federal government operating at existing or near-existing spending levels

By putting a CR on the floor in mid-July, Senate Republicans can show the Democrats they will not assent to another shutdown, and that the fight to keep the government open will start as early as possible.

If Democrats refuse to provide their votes, Republicans will have demonstrated who is driving the country toward a shutdown—and will be in a far stronger position to deploy more aggressive procedural tactics to stop it.

For example, Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., can threaten to keep the Senate in session through the August recess. Few things are more valuable to members of Congress than their time away from the District of Columbia. Though some detractors argue it would be foolish to keep vulnerable Republicans away from the campaign trail, the damage from a government shutdown potentially stretching through the election would be significantly worse.

Republicans can further turn up the heat by bringing full appropriations bills to the floor and holding nonstop votes. They can bring committee-drafted bills to the floor and force Democrats to explain why they suddenly oppose the same swampy appropriations process that they have championed for decades.

Even if this strategy fails, it will show Republican appropriators that the Democrats have no intention of acting in good faith and are intent on shutting down the government.    

Should Democrats refuse to vote for both a CR and regular appropriations bills, it will be the clearest sign that a government shutdown is their ultimate aim. Republicans have one final option to keep the government open: force a talking filibuster on an appropriations package.

The talking filibuster has received renewed interest with the SAVE America Act, and the process could be effectively used to keep the government open. Senate Republicans can bring House-passed conservative appropriations bills to the floor and force Democrats to debate them indefinitely. Unlike a traditional talking filibuster, Senate Rule XIV specially prohibits legislating on an appropriations bill, so any efforts to force vulnerable Republicans to vote on unrelated legislation would be thwarted.

Democrats would likely offer amendments to increase funding for various welfare programs and Democratic priorities, but a disciplined Republican conference could easily vote them down. Any fear of consequences at the ballot box for votes against increased funding should be assuaged by the prospect of a government shutdown during an election.

Republicans will have to take tough votes to get anything worthwhile accomplished. That’s the nature of politics. There are no solutions or strategies without risk. The Democrats want another government shutdown, and they will do all they can to make it happen.

Republicans have no choice but to respond with similar force and urgency.