The U.S. government hit a wall yesterday, grinding to a partial halt after Congress failed to pass a spending bill before the midnight deadline. The shutdown, the first since 2018, has thrown federal workers into limbo and shuttered non-essential services, with both sides slinging mud over who’s to blame. At the heart of the fight: a bitter clash over healthcare funding for undocumented immigrants and a ballooning $37 trillion national debt.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt came out swinging at a Wednesday briefing, pointing the finger at Democrats for tanking a House Republican bill that would’ve kept the government funded through November 21. “Democrats in Congress have officially shut down the United States government,” she said, calling their rejection of the bill a near carbon copy of one they backed in March, just tweaked for inflation nothing but “pure partisan politics.” Leavitt noted that Democrats passed similar no-frills funding bills 14 times under Biden, so what’s the holdup now?
The answer, she says, is Democrats’ push to expand Affordable Care Act subsidies, which Republicans claim would funnel free healthcare to “illegal aliens.” With the U.S. debt clock ticking past $37 trillion, Leavitt didn’t hold back: “America cannot afford to provide free healthcare for illegals who broke the laws to enter our country.” It’s a line that’s got Trump’s base fired up but has critics crying foul over the rhetoric.
The shutdown’s already hitting hard. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are either furloughed or working without pay, national parks are scaling back or closing, and economic reports like the September jobs numbers are delayed. Essential services—think Social Security and mail—are still running, but a prolonged stalemate could snarl everything from air travel to farm grants. This is the 15th shutdown since 1980, per the Bipartisan Policy Center, and it’s giving flashbacks to the record 34-day slog in 2018-2019, also under Trump.
Speaking of the president, Trump’s not exactly playing peacemaker. On Tuesday, he hinted at using the shutdown to slash federal jobs and programs, especially ones he says lean Democrat. “We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible,” he warned, adding that “a lot of good” could come from the chaos. He’s already got the Office of Management and Budget freezing $26 billion in funds, including $18 billion for New York transit and $8 billion for green energy projects in blue states, a move Democrats call petty revenge.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s pushing back, accusing Trump and the GOP of holding the government hostage to gut healthcare protections. A bipartisan Senate group tried to hash out a deal yesterday, but it went nowhere. House Speaker Mike Johnson called the Dems’ tactics “reckless,” while posts on X show the public’s split some cheer “Schumer’s shutdown,” others slam Trump for playing hardball with people’s livelihoods.
With a possible Senate vote looming Friday, the White House is urging Democrats to “be reasonable” and pass the funding bill. But Trump seems to think he can ride this out, betting the public will blame the other side. With his approval rating around 39% and the economy taking a hit Bank of America says every two weeks of this costs 0.1% of GDP growth this gamble’s looking dicey. Stay tuned; it’s only getting messier
