Strength test for a weekWho is the record closing winner?
Since early October, Republicans and Democrats have been fighting over the US budget and paralyzing the entire country in the process. Now some Democrats are giving in and Trump’s party sees this as their own victory. But it’s not that simple.
The struggle for power between the two largest US parties is akin to a grueling weeks-long boxing match – and millions of Americans are forced to watch. Republicans and Democrats argued over and over again – and after nearly six weeks, it became clear that there had never been a longer government shutdown in the history of the United States: the so-called shutdown.
Both sides are adamant about their positions on the budget dispute. Because they couldn’t reach an agreement, the United States was plunged into weeks of no federal budget: no money for government workers, no food aid for more than 40 million Americans in need and, most recently, thousands of flights canceled due to a lack of air traffic controllers. There are now signs that the government shutdown is coming to an end and the big question is: Who will emerge victorious?
After difficult weeks, on the 40th day of the government shutdown, there were some Democrats who agreed to compromise. They provide the votes Republicans need to force a vote in the Senate — unlike a passed bill, this requires not only a majority in the 100-seat Senate, but also 60 votes. But Republicans only have 53 senators and Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky rejected the interim budget.
Seven Democrats and independent Angus King of Maine were enough to win the vote. Therefore, the dissenters opened the door to a temporary budget vote in the Senate on Monday. What is now missing is a yes from the DPR and US President Donald Trump’s signature.
It is unclear whether the rebels are the ones pushing behind the scenes to end the government shutdown. What is surprising is that none of the eight dissident groups are running for re-election in 2026; they all just need to run again for the Senate in 2028 or 2030 or have already announced their resignations.
Criticism of dissidents among Democrats
It is hoped that the party base will strongly criticize the surrender and could begin voting against dissidents in the upcoming primaries. It seems highly likely that behind the scenes, the parliamentary group decided to exclude senators who will stand for election in 2026 – in the hope that things will go smoothly later on.
That is their main demand in the standoff with Republicans, which Democrats deliver day after day: no cuts to government support for health care costs. Democrats warned that Trump’s law would eliminate tax credits for millions of Americans starting next year. In contrast, Republicans accused Democrats of supporting people living illegally in the US without documents.
The extension of state subsidies for health insurance demanded by Democrats has now been ruled out and suspended, leaving opposition senators seemingly with nothing to gain for now. But at least you got a promise from Republicans to vote again in December on extending health aid. Still, Republican approval is unlikely – but blocking them would certainly again spark major criticism. The calculation could be that the whole thing will have a negative impact on the Republican Party.
The impact on the upcoming election?
Because you have to remember right now: there will be midterm elections in America in a year. Members of the Senate and House of Representatives will be re-elected. Recently, there were setbacks for US President Trump and Republicans in the gubernatorial elections in two states won by the Democratic Party – not to mention the New York mayoral election, which was won by leftist Democrat Zohran Mamdani.
Basically everything is going well for the Democratic Party. Now, after a year full of conflict and disorientation following the defeat in the presidential election, the Democratic Party seems to be feeling united again and is once again constrained by budget disputes, according to the assessment of the TV station CNN. But the surrender of a small group of Democrats in the Senate could have a negative impact. Now the party must face criticism again that it does not have enough courage to confront Trump’s camp, according to a CNN analysis.
But the situation is dangerous for the Republican Party. It’s easy to see that the US government is aware of the dangers posed by the shutdown of the Trump administration: they tried to distance Trump from this dispute, to completely hide it – and initially sent Deputy JD Vance in front of the cameras. At first, Trump did not comment, which was unusual. Recent polls show that a growing number of Americans blame Republicans for the government shutdown.
