As long as the shutdown is presumed to be hurting Trump's popularity, Democrats are going to keep on bringing the pain.

As the government shutdown reaches critical mass, Washington insiders hoping for an off-ramp are going to be sorely disappointed. It’s been over a month and not much has changed on Capitol Hill. 

As of last weekend, a sensible, bipartisan coalition of lawmakers were back-channeling ways to end the shut down. But after Democrats emerged victorious from elections in New York City, Virginia, and New Jersey, Democrats on Tuesday, feelings seemed to have changed.

“Democrats Not Ready To Cave As Government Shutdown Drags On,” admitted Igor Bobic and Arthur Delaney for HuffPost on November 6, 2025. “The funding impasse on Capitol Hill has contributed to flight delays, interrupted food benefits for millions, and things are getting worse.”

When it comes to hurting Donald Trump and winning elections, however, the Democratic Party seems prepared to dig in for a long, unpopular haul into the holidays.

“Momentum in the Senate had been trending toward a bipartisan deal to reopen the government until Tuesday’s elections, when Democrats swept just about every office up for grabs,” noted Bobic and Delany. “Democrats didn’t just win; they notched historic margins in both Virginia and New Jersey, and saw Latinos, a key voting bloc, shift away from Republicans amid broad voter dissatisfaction with Trump’s economy and the cost of living.”

“Democrats try a new shutdown strategy: Unity,” proclaimed MSNBC on November 6, 2025. “Different Democrats have had all sorts of different strategies throughout the shutdown. But Democrats now want to try to speak with one voice.”

“After weeks of different Democrats taking different shutdown approaches — some voting with Republicans, some talking with GOP lawmakers about a bipartisan deal and some holding out completely — Democrats emerged from an hourslong closed-door meeting on Thursday advocating a new strategy: unity,” MSNBC reported. 

“What that unity means, in practice, is unclear,” the news outlet admitted. “And whether that unity can be maintained — and for how long — remains to be seen. But the answers to those questions could decide how and when the shutdown ends.”

Meanwhile, Republicans are taking a gloomy view on the subject.

“Democrats Wield Chaos As a Strategy,” complained Victor Davis Hanson for Real Clear Politics on November 6, 2025. 

“In this week’s election, Republicans finally grasped the purpose of the pre-election shutdown,” Hanson began. “It was designed to galvanize key constituencies to get out the vote in a low-turnout year. The lockdown was especially aimed at two groups: laid-off and unpaid government workers and entitlement recipients terrified that their checks would dry up. Both turned out disproportionately in Virginia and New Jersey.”

“Let’s not test the idiot Democrat staffer who said: ‘We’ll keep the the shutdown going until planes start falling from the sky,” Sen. Ted Cruz said on Thursday.

“That’s not funny,” he declared. “Every day the Democrats starve the system of the resources it needs, and they increase the chances of a tragedy like that occurring.”

(Contributing writer, Brooke Bell)