Shutting Down the Shutdown

Today is Day 21 of the Republican shutdown. Your regular reminders:

1. Republicans control the White House, Senate and House.

2. GOP making deep cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and ACA.

3. Democrats are fighting to lower costs, cancel the cuts and save healthcare for Americans. https://t.co/Yh7mNKgjJu

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) October 21, 2025

Democrats have settled on a lie they hope will sit well with voters. The story goes that the GOP is cutting healthcare, which has nothing to do with the CR bill whatsoever. Their wager is that Americans are too stupid to realize that. Pretty sleazy if you ask me.

The second part of their message is, 'Hey, Republicans control everything anyway and can end the shutdown any time they want, so you can't blame this on us.'

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Grateful Calvin

Another dishonest Democrat talking point. Shocking, I know.

Democrats are solely responsible for the Obamacare tax credit cliff, yet they're trying to pin this disaster on Republicans while also asking Republicans to bail them out.

We’re not going to negotiate until Democrats stop holding government funding hostage. pic.twitter.com/EpkESkDISp

— Leader John Thune (@LeaderJohnThune) October 20, 2025

So how exactly does the GOP shut down the shutdown?

The one option that can't be on the table at all is to 'negotiate' (aka, cave) on Democrat demands. This is a clean CR bill. It's not like the GOP passed a spending bill filled with border wall funding and massive spending cuts. The CR simply maintains current funding levels (Biden funding levels) until November 21 of this year.

If Democrats refuse to approve a short-term budget they've already passed before and the GOP gives an inch, Republicans are telling them they can hold every single legislative agenda item of Trump's presidency hostage with the filibuster until the GOP gives in.

They can't do it.

Democrats don’t control the House OR the Senate OR the White House

Dems are abusing Senate Rule 22 trying to force their radical policies on us—as if they still controlled all three

Ironically, Dems had—then lost—control because voters widely rejected those same failed policies https://t.co/Xuq2kYEC0U

— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) October 16, 2025

Republicans control the House, Senate, White House, and have a conservative Supreme Court, but they'd be allowing the minority party to dictate the direction of the country. It's a nonstarter.

The GOP either has to wait this out, which seems to be the current strategy, or get more aggressive.

I think the waiting strategy may pay off over the next week as government employees miss another paycheck. Sure, they'll all be given back pay when the shutdown ends, but back pay doesn't pay today's bills. Things are about to get ugly, and public perception of who's to blame is the Democrats' entire endgame.

I don't think they have any real confidence that this is going to work, but it's all they've got. Nervous Democrats are practically begging the GOP to bail them out.

Anyone saying Democrats shut down the government is flat out lying.

Republicans control all branches. Republicans can stop their #governmentshutdown today.

The Republican controlled Senate CAN SWITCH TO A MAJORITY VOTE JUST LIKE THEY DID LAST MONTH: https://t.co/DHONRjL3g8

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) October 1, 2025

Look at Ted Lieu's lie as an example that has been repeated by other Democrats as well. According to Lieu, Republicans control all branches. They can 'end the shutdown today'. Democrats are being purposely vague with that claim. Sometimes it means the GOP can give in to their demands to end the shutdown, and other times it means the GOP can use the 'nuclear option' to end the Democrat filibuster.

Lieu says 'The Republican controlled Senate CAN SWITCH TO A MAJORITY VOTE JUST LIKE THEY DID LAST MONTH', referring to the nuclear option. He's being dishonest, of course, because he knows both parties have only used the nuclear option to move nominations forward (thanks, Harry Reid). Using the nuclear option to end the legislative filibuster is a Pandora's Box neither party has been willing to open.

Republicans can end their shutdown and all the pointless pain it’s causing at any point.
 
Instead, they’re intent on raising your health care premiums and unleashing flight delays, missed paychecks, and chaos on Americans.

— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) October 9, 2025

Most Democrats won't even utter the words 'nuclear option'.

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman reportedly told reporters he would back Republicans in using the "nuclear option" to eliminate the Senate filibuster to pass legislation to reopen the government. pic.twitter.com/lUmQcRjOtU

— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) October 21, 2025

I said 'most' Democrats. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has become a wildcard for the Democrats. Reports are that he recently said the GOP should just nuke the filibuster.

.@RepMTG says that to end the shutdown, Republicans should use the "nuclear option" and override the 60-vote threshold for passing legislation in the Senate pic.twitter.com/NoZB8Od6JN

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) October 14, 2025

The GOP's own firebrand, Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14), is saying the same thing.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is refusing to use the so-called nuclear option to get rid of the legislative filibuster so Republicans can end the government shutdown without needing Democratic votes. https://t.co/iYBWTQZWZ2

— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) October 10, 2025

So far, Senators Thune (R-SD) and Barrasso (R-WY) have said the nuclear option is not in play.

But should it be?

I think it's time to at least have the talk.

The GOP wins in one of three ways. One, they simply outlast the Democrats until five more Dem senators give in to public pressure. Two, they get more aggressive, placing pressure on the most vulnerable Democrat senators to try to force them to cave sooner. Three, they deploy the nuclear option and claim total victory, but face the fallout of such a move.

Entertaining the third option may be enough to force the second.

Democrats have already dared the GOP to use the nuclear option. It's time to tell them what that would mean.

I think it would be a huge mistake to nuke the filibuster but say 'we're only doing this to make an exception for clean CR spending bills'. Nope, you're bailing the Democrats out. They can claim they were right along: 'We told you Republicans could end the shutdown any time they wanted!'

The next time Democrats control Congress and the White House, they will say the GOP ended the legislative filibuster, ignoring any detail about 'clean CRs' and passing their progressive fever dream bills right and left with a simple majority.

GOP leadership needs to tell the Democrats loud and clear, 'If you refuse to open the government, and force us to end your shutdown with the nuclear option, we will not be voting on a clean CR. We will be voting on a new Republican spending bill with everything we want and a lot you don't want. We'll also bail out the American people you hosed with your garbage healthcare bill, but make sure we include additional items so you can't vote yes on it. We'll follow that up by passing every other legislative agenda item we and President Trump campaigned on.'

If you're going to show that stick, you have to be willing to swing it.

If the GOP pulled that trigger, they'd have to lead in historic fashion. The policies they institute would have to be popular or risk being dismantled in the next Democrat-controlled administration. The changes would have to be transformative. They'd have to 'Make America Great Again'.

That threat may be enough to make squishy Democrats realize they don't want to push their shutdown showdown any further.