Public sentiment around the US government shutdown is overwhelmingly negative, with widespread frustration directed at both political parties, particularly Congress, for their perceived negligence towards federal workers and essential services. Many citizens express feelings of betrayal and helplessness, demanding accountability and systemic change, especially regarding the pay for elected officials during shutdowns. There is a strong call for the government to prioritize the people's needs to end political maneuvering that exacerbates the crisis.

Congress

Republicans

Democrats

Probably won't. Democrats have no reason to believe any promises from Republicans because they break them constantly, so unless they get a deal in writing up front they should not back off.

And of course Republicans are actively blocking any measures that would reduce the suffering during the shutdown, like refusing to go ahead and fund food stamps anyway, because they are intentionally trying to increase the suffering to the point that people are violent in the street so that they can send in the military and declare martial law.

Deinosoar

When a few more democrats cave in and pass something out of fear of their moderate voter base.

BallerinaFetish69

hopefully long enough to really cripple the republicans.

Mathalamus3

It ends when it ends.

Right now, it seems like it's going to take something pretty drastic to get either side to "fold". I'm afraid to even consider what that something might be, but one would hope that "the greater good" would prevail over party lines.

MOS95B

Probably not before February.  This shutdown isn't bothering the Project 2025 timeline even a little - turns out it's a boon for Republicans right now and they're getting even more than what Project 2025 projected in terms of fired employees, program cancellations and funding pullbacks.

Trump can continue to hold out and get everything or just leave the government closed and still get everything.  It's really a matter of which path is easier to repair after midterms for Democrats.

agentnormie

Hungry people are angry people. So when they get hungry enough. 

Aggressive_Cup8452

Whenever the democrats understand illegals will not be getting any tax payer benefits. 

But read this: 

However, have to admit, Democrats nailed the politicking around Government shut down.
 
They were hemorrhaging approval numbers, no clear messaging, nothing to run on other than the overplayed story if he’s a fascist, racist, felon, big bad orange man (it’s elementary)... so they shut down the government, tell people is for "Healthcare" as the rallying cry and even though THEY are the ones who shut down the government AND created the Healthcare crisis they are trying to avert (look it up, it's their bill under Biden that set the expiration date on the subsidies they are now fighting for).. they spun the crap out of it enough to convince people to vote for them again. And it worked. With a compliant media and an idiotic populous, anything is possible. The left voters don’t even realize what actually occurred. 
 
Now, suddenly, the government will reopen at some point and Democrats will use the recent election results as evidence of a "mandate from the masses" that their policies are preferred.. even though not a single policy has been presented. And Chuck Schumer still had nothing to do with anything helpful to the tax us citizens. 
 
Brilliant. Scary implications for the future - but brilliant.

NotImpressed-

The OBBBA cuts medicare &amp; medicaid subsidies which are projected to cause health care costs to double, triple and in some cases to dectuple,  making it unaffordable for millions of people who still have it.  It's also projected to cause some rural hospitals to close.


Republicans claim that the cut is to prevent undocumented immigrants from getting services, even though there are laws against that, and the undocumented don't have medicare cards.  The Republicans then pivot to illegals getting care at emergency rooms, which is covered by a Reagan era law, and then they say it's to prevent paying for transgender surgery, which is pretty much elective.

After the smoke &amp; flashing mirrors, the dispute boils down to where the Democrats have drawn a line in the sand, refusing to pass the budget bill as long as it includes cuts to medicare, medicaid &amp; social security.  Mike Johnson's response is that Dems should allow the cuts to go through, and he promises that Republicans will try to fix the resulting carnage some other time,  Trump's healthcare plan will be ready in 2 weeks, (a quote from 2017) .

My true apologies if that sounds biased, but the Dems stance is simply that they refuse to vote to pass the cuts,  the projected consequences come from independent sources, and the Republicans won't commit to a clear and credible alternative.

Admiral_Nitpicker

Prime issues with this so-called "clean" bill.

Healthcare:

This bill will impact ALL AMERICANS who rely on the ACA, Medicare, and Medicaid. We're talking about the elderly, disabled, bonafide war veterans etc. Many will now suddenly become uninsured all while medical/healthcare/prescription costs continue to increase. 

Additionally, this will directly impact many hospitals, and nursing homes by forcing them to most likely shutdown. Many institutions within that sector rely on this funding to remain solvent, you cut that lifeline and many hospitals/nursing homes will shutdown. Think about how many Americans will potentially lose their jobs as a result. Those same Americans will probably need temporary Govt assistance while figuring out their next steps in trying to maintain finances, housing and a way to provide food for thier families. But guess what, this thing called SNAP will have already been gutted by the Republicans either way, so now what?

I haven't even mentioned the plan to defund reproductive healthcare and the implications that will have on women's health and children across America.

Energy:

This bill will repeal the clean energy tax credits, so now greedy corporations will no longer see any incentive toward promoting clean reliable energy resulting in more pollution and more construction job losses. Hopefully, proponents of this bill will never develop a sequelae of illnesses later in life from environmental damage considering how the thought of this would not pair well alongside a gutted healthcare system. Furthermore, repealing the clean energy tax credit (which is attached to the Inflation Reduction Act), Americans can expect an increase on our electrical bills just for less reliable energy in the future. How does this make any justifiable sense?

Tax cuts for the wealthy (best for last):

I'll just be frank about this one, when you look at the components that make up this trash bill, it's clear this bill's ultimate goal is to serve as a vehicle to further transfer wealth from the poor to the rich.

As if the scheme to clearly provide over $4 (T)rillion dollars in tax breaks/cuts to the rich (partially financed by the aforementioned cuts to healthcare and food assistance) wasn't enough, the Republicans will add an additional $4(T)rillion dollars to the federal deficit with their questionable spending on providing new toys for ICE/Homeland security/military to ensure their distraction-purposed war on immigration continues.

Edit: spelling

-Reddititis

So on a purely mechanical level, the US Congress has to pass a budget or otherwise vote to authorize continued spending for some amount of time. If they don't, then no further payments are legal after the previous budget or spending authorization expires. There are a whole bunch of additional laws that carve out exceptions for that in some cases, but that is the main idea. In other words, if there isn't a budget or spending authorization by X date, the government shuts down.

So in terms of voting the US Congress is bicameral and both houses have to pass the same budget/spending authorization. The US House of Reps can pass a budget / spending authorization with a simple majority. 

But the US Senate has a weird procedural rule that allows anyone to hold up a vote on most things indefinitely. It's called the "filibuster", and it occurs because Senators are allowed to speak indefinitely at a certain point in the voting process, and so by doing so they can delay the vote indefinitely.

Historically, a filibuster has required Senators to actually get up on the floor and speak continuously, because the moment they stop the filibuster would be over. But more recently the Senate decided that you can filibuster just by saying you're doing it. Hence, it happens a *lot* more often than it used to.

Now, there is *also* a way to bypass a filibuster as well. The Senate can move for a vote of cloture (ie a vote to end all debate) and, if successful, nobody can filibuster anymore and the Senate instead must vote. However, a vote of cloture requires 60 votes out of 100, rather than a simple majority.

So what this means in practice is that, in order for the Senate to do most things, there need to be 60 Senators willing to do it. Otherwise, someone will filibuster and it won't go anywhere.

Hence, a new budget / spending authorization requires a 60 vote majority in the Senate, no a simple majority. This is sometimes referred to as a "supermajority" or a "filibuster proof majority" in political discussions.

At the moment, Republicans hold a simple but not filibuster proof majority in the Senate, which means they need to convince at least some Democrats to join them in a vote on any budget / spending authorization they want to pass (I believe they need 7 Democratic votes), or the Dems can (and currently are) filibuster.

However, the Republicans have refused to negotiate with Democrats or grant them any concessions in order to justify those votes. There has been a lot of rhetorical back and forth about it, but that is ultimately the case. Republicans are essentially demanding that Dems vote for a budget that they had no part in negotiating and which does not contain any Democrat priorities. And Dems are refusing and holding up the vote via filibuster.

In particular, one of the biggest priorities for the Dems is extending health care subsidies that were put in place via the Affordable Care Act / "Obamacare". The Republicans want to let these expire. If these do expire, it means that healthcare costs for individuals in the US will *massively* increase. And the Dems want to continue these to prevent that.

There are of course other components, but that is the core dispute: Republicans want Dems to vote on a unilateral Republican budget that allows Obamacare subsidies to expire, and Dems want Republicans to negotiate with them and grant some concessions (including extension of the healthcare premiums).

The current crisis caused by this is SNAP benefits aka food stamps, which support around 40 million people in the US. They don't get paid out during a shutdown, but there is an emergency fund that can be used, but Trump has tried to claim he can't/can't be forced to use it, etc. it looks like courts have ruled the emergency funds have to be used, but we'll see.

But because the government has now been shut down for a month, there are a bunch of government employees who have not gotten a paycheck all month, and many of them will be unable to afford rent / their mortgage. Additionally, there are a bunch of government workers with essential jobs who are required to work for free during the shutdown (they get back pay after, of course, but during the shutdown they get nothing), and after a month they both cannot afford rent / mortgage and also are understandably pissed off and tired of working for free, so their quality of work will massively drop off / they will start just quitting and getting other jobs.

Additionally, another big looming crisis has to do with annual enrollment for health benefits. Now, I think this is an incredibly stupid system, but the way it works in the US is that each year around this time everyone has to decide what healthcare plan(s) they want for the next year. Much of the time you just pick the same stuff you picked last year, but you do have to do it, and sometimes things do change.

And this year, because the healthcare subsidies could expire, the cost of these plans is going to be *way* higher than before. Like, more than double.

So that is going to be a big shock for folks when they see it. Also, annual enrollment is pretty short -- you only get a couple of weeks to do it. So if this shutdown bleeds into that people either won't be able to pick their plan, or they'll have to pick based on unsubsidized prices (which may or may not get reduced after, but who knows how much), or maybe the government will extend annual enrollment if things keep changing in the middle of it, etc.

But above all it is going to be a lot of confusion, and people are going to be scared and angry and calling for blood.

And this is most likely what the Democrats are counting on, because their ability to get concessions from the Republicans relies on Republicans feeling sufficient pressure to allow it. And because the Dems have been focusing on healthcare premiums this whole time, they are likely hoping that people side with them against Republicans on this.

But regardless, it will become increasingly difficult for Congress to continue the shutdown for much longer, because once you pass the month mark a *lot* more stuff starts breaking down (people can often limp along well enough for a couple of weeks, but a full month starts to cause rapidly compounding problems).

No government shutdown in the past has lasted longer than I believe 34 days. So we'll see whether this one lasts a similar amount of time, or if enough other things about politics have changed to allow Congress to weather the outrage and continue it for longer. But we will know more in this next week / the week after.

helmutye

If congress wouldn't get paid during a shutdown, I guarantee you they would have resolved this before it started.

LetsGoAllTheWhey

Republicans control all branches of government.

But for some votes in the Senate you need 60 votes to end the filibuster so Dems are requiring Republicans to negotiate properly and include passages to avoid them from using the loopholes they love.

This is (more or less) the only way they can prevent ballooning premiums due to massive cuts in Trump's BBB.

The House has been out of session for 6 weeks at this point (to prevent the Epstein files from releasing really), the House Speaker is refusing to swear in a Democrat that would be the final vote to force a House vote on releasing the Epstein files. 

They aren't exactly interested in negotiating in good faith. They're not entitled to Democratic votes without giving concessions.

da2Pakaveli

The only real answer is that it depends on your perspective

The Republicans proposed the budget and the Democrats refuse to vote for it. So at the most simple level there is a budget and the Democrats are not passing it. That's the Republican perspective

But obviously Democrats aren't elected to just blindly do whatever the Republicans want, and they're refusing to vote for the budget because they think it will harm their voters... so from a Democrat perspective, the Republicans are putting forward a budget that they (Democrats) cannot support in good conscience

Personally it seems fairly obvious that the budget is hugely damaging to working Americans, and so I'd be inclined to agree with the Democrats

audigex

Realistically, they both are because they have policies that are red line and opposite to each other. Republicans have ways to bypass the current blockage but it would have significant backlash. 

The main issue is healthcare, which Republicans wants to cut Medicaid and health subsidies

Democrats refuses to cut those subsidies.

This is the core of the issue. 

Medicaid cut would have significant impact on low income areas which local hospitals only survive because it those subsidies. The cuts would lead to closing of those hospitals and some have already be pre-announced.

There are something like 700 rural hospitals that have been identified by people in the field that would be severely impacted or would have to close because of those cuts. 

While both are blocking , I do personally believe that Democrats are in the right in the situation that letting a ton of rural communities without services or coverage is an absolute disaster that will only lead to suffering for the most vulnerable

Kefflin

Republicans control the House, Senate, and White House making them responsible for keeping the government funded. However, Democrats in the Senate are blocking the temporary funding bill because it strips ACA subsidies without any negotiation, forcing Republicans to either compromise or own the shutdown.

hard2resist

asking who, objectively, is the cause isn't going to work. instead, i'll tell you what both sides want, and you can decide.

in a nutshell, the republicans want cuts to government health agencies, as well as doing away with government subsidies for health insurance (which make health insurance cheaper for tens of millions of americans) enacted during covid, and now are set to expire. they also want to cut federal funding to hospitals that serve a higher than average uninsured and low income patient load, that help offset their costs. they also refuse to reverse cuts to the medicaid program that helps millions of disabled and elderly americans. in short, the republicans want their version of the bill to help fewer americans with their healthcare costs, so that money can be used elsewhere instead (the elsewhere is a whole other conversation)

the democrats on the other hand, are refusing to play ball unless the inverse of all of those things are agreed to. they are using their position to try and force the republicans to include more healthcare protections for around 100 million americans, or 1/3 of the population.

so...who do you think should have their way?

setrippin

The fundamental issue that's not getting enough attention in the media is Trump is unilaterally making cuts to the budget that have not been approved by Congress. This makes it nearly impossible for Democrats to negotiate with Republicans in good faith because Trump can blow up any budget agreement on a whim. Republicans in Congress are offering virtually no pushback to this usurption of their powers. 

Previously, it was understood that the Executive Branch would implement the Legislative Branch's priorities. The administration would have discretion on how to implement those priorities but Congress dictated the funding levels. Now the Trump administration is treating those funding levels as a ceiling. So if they don't support something Congress has passed, they feel they have discretion to not spend money towards that initiative. Previous case law doesn't support what the administration is doing but the Supreme Court seems largely deferential.

So to answer your question, Democrats aren't passing a "clean" CR because it's not actually clean. They know Trump can and will ignore any budget agreement. Republicans refuse to entertain putting any limits on what the president can do. This is the main reason Democrats only want to negotiate with Trump to reopen the government. The ACA subsidies are a bit of a red herring but bring attention to the fact that Republicans are cutting health care to many.

Blide

At its core, behind all the political blustering, is that it's a procedural thing and the Republicans not having enough votes in the Senate to pass a budget without Democrat help but Republicans also not coming to the table to compromise/bargain to get those votes.

The House of Representatives can pass bills with a simple majority and also have the "power of the purse" so they must initiate budget bills and anything to do with how money is spent.  The Senate has a rule that requires 60 out of 100 votes to pass a bill.  The Republicans have the simple majority in the House of Representatives.  The Republicans have the majority in the Senate but DO NOT have the 60 (they only have 53).

Because the Republicans don't have the 60 votes, the Democrats have a chance, as the minority party, to force the Republicans to compromise.  There was a past piece of legislation that was passed (the so called "Big Beautiful Bill") that planned to sunset healthcare subsidies that were implemented during COVID.  However, many Americans have now come to depend on those subsidies to pay for their healthcare costs.  The subsidies are due to expire at the end of this year.  The Democrats have made the healthcare subsidies the issue and have said they want to negotiate now on them to ensure there is action.  The Republicans want to pass a continuing resolution to maintain spending now and then come to the table to negotiate later and get something done before the end of the year.

The reason the Dems have dug in so hard though is really two fold.  The first is a timeline thing, which we have now blown past, as open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) started on Nov 1 and insurance companies would've had to set their premium costs based on if the subsidies will or will not be in play beyond this year.  The second is a trust issue.  The Democrats do not feel that they can trust that the Republicans will actually show up to negotiate in good faith if they pass the bill.  Or if the Republicans do negotiate and hammer out a deal, that Trump won't either veto it or turn around in a few weeks and not use the money as intended, which he has already done a number of times this year, and the Republicans have not put up any resistance to him doing it.  

So that's why the Democrats are digging in now and refusing to do anything until those healthcare subsidies are discussed and something is put in place that Trump can't follow through.  But so far the Republicans refuse to negotiate and are insisting its their way or no way.

The one other thing that has been whispered but hasn't seriously been considered is the "nuclear option" which would change the Senate rules and lower the threshold to pass bills there by simple majority.  It's already been changed for confirming judges and cabinet appointments but no one on either side is super excited about the idea of doing it for bills.  It's fine in the short-term for the majority party but that party doesn't stay in the majority forever and when the sides flip, suddenly the now minority party will have no defense to watching the other side pass their agenda unchecked.  No one wants that.

akamikedavid

One of the provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill was cuts to Medicaid and Medicare. Additionally ending subsidies for the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare. This will cause many people's premiums on their Healthcare to skyrocket.

While Republicans do control both chambers of Congress as well as the presidency, they do not have enough of a majority to get around the legislative filibuster. (60 votes in the Senate). As such, they need at least 7 Democrats to cross the aisle to reopen the government. 

Dems feel like this is their one shot to have any leverage to get any sort of concession and they want a carve out for those subsidies to not expire. Republicans have pushed back on this saying that Dems real goal is to extend Healthcare to undocumented immigrants. 

Dems also have had a reputation of being cowards legislatively and not fighting the Trump administration for any sort of concessions, and feels their base wants them to stand on business and fight this one to the end. Republicans feel their base doesn't want any cooperation with Dems.

Trump has floated asking Republicans to nuke the filibuster entirely, but theres hesitation to do that as well because of fear of what Dems can do with that same power when they get back in majority.

There's so many off ramps where you could apply fault to one side or another. But the main idea is both sides have been poisoned by the extreme wings of their bases that compromise is seen as a dirty word.

Tl;dr: Everybody musty. Wash ya ass.

JScrib325

Gerrymandering and citizens united enter the conversation.

HerbEverstanks

They are all guilty. DC exists to further the agenda of the politicians and the elites. Normal folks get screwed.

ThatFyrefighterGuy

Technically the blame is on both of them however if the Democrats fold and go along the American people get screwed hard. While if the Republicans fold and go along we get helped. Either group could end it by compromising with the other.

jackfaire

Republicans have 54 seats in the senate, but 60 is needed to pass legislation. The republicans have refused to negotiate anything with the democrats and just insist they sign the bill as is

Arcticwolf1505

The democrats are not allowing the temporary funding bill to be voted on in the senate because it does not address their concerns about removing the subsidies for ACA (healthcare).  The republicans have not compromised at all on any of their policies nor taken up any of the democrats amendments to the proposed bills.  

In summary, Republicans are acting like bullies and not playing fair. Democrats decided they don’t want to play ball anymore and republicans are saying that’s unfair.

tthrivi

“The President is to blame when there is a shutdown” 

- Trump

brazilliandanny

Thomas Massie has the votes to force a discharge petition of the Epstein Files. Many powerful people and interests (both domestic and foreign) are associated with Epstein in ways that they would not like to have made public.

The Federal Bureacracy needs time to break someone down into changing their vote so that the discharge petition cannot pass when Congress decides to reconvene.

They want us to argue about things other than the Epstein Files.

AJgrizz

The budget needs 60 votes to enact cloture* and be voted on, at which point it will only need 51 votes in the senate to pass. The budget was written largely by Republicans to enable their agenda with some scraps given to Democrats. There was a similar case in March, to which Democratic leadership compromised to keep the government open and, in return, guarantee funding to several Democrat priorities. Over the spring and summer the president used recission to reneg on the guaranteed funding that Democrats negotiated for, with his budget czar making the disingenuous claim that funding bills are a ceiling, not a floor, so they had every right to not deliver the money that had been agreed upon. As a result there really isn't any reason why Democrats should negotiate this time around. They have no guarantee that anything the negotiate for will actually be delivered, after all.  More importantly, though, the 60 votes to enact cloture is a simple rule that can be changed more or less at any time, the so-called "nuclear option." This means that any time Republicans want to re-open the government they can by either negotiating with Democrats who, at this time, are asking for one single thing--an extension of Obamacare subsidies--or by invoking the nuclear option and ending the filibuster.  *Explanation of Cloture: It looks like "closure" but it's not a typo, cloture is the parliamentary term for bringing debate to a close prematurely. In a classic TV/movie filibuster the politician talks and talks and no one can stop them, but in reality someone can motion for cloture (even mid-filibuster) and if the required number of votes (60, in the case of the senate) is met then the filibuster immediately ends and people move on to voting.

rubrent

Democrats won’t sign a bill that guts Medicaid in favor of giving Tax breaks to the 1%. MAGA also wants to keep the government shut down to avoid releasing the Epstein files

KnowledgeCoffee

A similar question on a different thread. The answer (not mine) I thought was well written

Answer: The budget needs 60 votes to enact cloture* and be voted on, at which point it will only need 51 votes in the senate to pass. The budget was written largely by Republicans to enable their agenda with some scraps given to Democrats. There was a similar case in March, to which Democratic leadership compromised to keep the government open and, in return, guarantee funding to several Democrat priorities. Over the spring and summer the president used recission to reneg on the guaranteed funding that Democrats negotiated for, with his budget czar making the disingenuous claim that funding bills are a ceiling, not a floor, so they had every right to not deliver the money that had been agreed upon. As a result there really isn't any reason why Democrats should negotiate this time around. They have no guarantee that anything the negotiate for will actually be delivered, after all.

More importantly, though, the 60 votes to enact cloture is a simple rule that can be changed more or less at any time, the so-called "nuclear option." This means that any time Republicans want to re-open the government they can by either negotiating with Democrats who, at this time, are asking for one single thing--an extension of Obamacare subsidies--or by invoking the nuclear option and ending the filibuster.

*Explanation of Cloture: It looks like "closure" but it's not a typo, cloture is the parliamentary term for bringing debate to a close prematurely. In a classic TV/movie filibuster the politician talks and talks and no one can stop them, but in reality someone can motion for cloture (even mid-filibuster) and if the required number of votes (60, in the case of the senate) is met then the filibuster immediately ends and people move on to voting.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/s/Y8qC15h2iM

Neat-Morning7232

Liberals want to release the Epstein files, and a new liberal was elected in Arizona. The conservatives controls enough of the government that theyre effectively preventing swearing her in, so she cant go to work and represent her constituents. If she does get sworn in, she'd be the tie breaking vote to release the Epstein files. 

The conservatives also hate Obama and everything he did. The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare its sometimes called) was due for its continuation. The conservatives dont want to continue it, and if it ends, most Americans will have *extremely* inflated Healthcare costs. The liberal party doesnt want that to happen, and the conservatives *barely* dont have enough votes to pass the continuing resolution to fund the government without working a *tiny* bit with the liberals. So the liberal party told the conservative party that the conservatives could get *almost everything* they want in the budget bill as long as they keep the affordable healthcare part. The conservatives stomped their feet, and hoped enough Americans are dumb enough to blame the liberals. 

The conservative party is manipulating the tiniest shred of truth to get people to believe dozens of lies. This shutdown on the conservatives completely. They want to get their way 100%, and are throwing a bratty fit about only getting 99%.

Malakai0013

one thing to be very clear about.

in USA politics, there are massive propaganda machines, that spew propaganda 24/7.  Like Fox News, and a host of other even nuttier channels (i.e. cable/satellite channels).  Additionally, an army of podcasters.

In the current administration, the white house itself, and the president press secretary, and the speaker of the house, are all flat out propaganda sources.  They state things that are clearly false, constantly.

And propaganda works very very well, highly successful.  Half the country wants the propaganda.

So, in trying to figure out the facts, look for news sources that are factual.

Reuters seems pretty good.  AP news.  PBS news.  BBC news.   Ground News.   Straight Arrow News seems good, I just started looking at that. 

And, even though maga would lose their shit, NPR news rates very highly on being factual. 

Now, for the answer:  Republicans need 60% of the vote in the senate to force this, they require several democrats to vote for it.  The bill has many issues with it:

1) it isn't just a budget, but it is doing legislation, i.e basically making new laws.  That is not how the fed gov is supposed to work.  Congress makes laws, not the executive. Source: Trump - stating that when the budget passes, they have achieved all their goals, and don't have to work anymore for the rest of the term.

2) guts healthcare for millions, as you've read in many comments

3) fiscally irresponsible.

There is an additional factor going on,  republicans want the government shut down, because if they swear in election winners (i.e. democrat Adelita Grijalva) then congress can demand the Epstein files get released publicly, and the republicans will never let this happen.  You may speculate on why that is the factual truth.

Apprehensive-Care20z

Americas shitty voting habits is the actual cause of this

staresinamerican

If someone tells you that it’s both sides or Democrats, they are lying. Full stop. No debate. The GOP control all branches of government and for the most part, have left DC and aren’t meeting with their constituents. Democrats are still in DC to debate, compromise, and in short, do their jobs but the GOP don’t want to. Easier to cash their paycheck (which they still get despite the government being shutdown) and blame democrats despite having all the power

PredatorAvPFan

One answer that you aren’t getting is that it’s the fault of every president and Congress that was fine with continued deficit spending and hoping that another generation will pick up the tab. Start with Reagan, brief pause under Clinton, and then everyone since.

Hoosier108

The real problem is the dysfunctional nature of our political system. It's outdated; it no longer serves the nation's interests as it currently exists, and now we have 24/7 news and social media fueling the flames. This is only the beginning; I suspect that we could see even more problems in the future.

KBAR1942

The question is are you paying attention to the people doing the doing?

WHAT is YOUR opinion on who is obviously at fault

RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES

No_Introduction7307

Republicans don't realize Charlie Brown is done trying to kick the football. They've used up all their good will. They have not made a negotiation in good faith since Trump came along so Dems aren't gonna back down on getting the ACA and Medicaid and Medicare funding. However, Republicans don't actually need Dems to open the government. They could use the nuclear option and open the government with a simple majority if they wanted to. Trump came out and asked them to yesterday and they said no. Which tells me he didn't actually want them to and he just wanted to be able to say he tried. If he wanted the government open they would do it

justlookin-0232

Honest-Bridge-7278

Donald J Trump and Republicans are in charge of both the Congress and the executive branches of our government and as such bear full responsibility for the shut down.

edgarjwatson

Republicans have all branches and a large enough majority to pass anything they want. Anyone blaming Democrats has no idea how the system works

beartpc12293

In any shutdown it’s either the party who controls all three branches or the party who refuse to negotiate.

In this case both of these parties would be the republicans.

oboejoe92

Republican rhetoric in the last 12 years has been anti-establishment and anti-poor, republicans are not voting to approve the affordable care act, they are illegally withholding nutrition assistance funding, they’re refusing to swear in an elected official to avoid having the Epstein files released

Democrats have always tried to play with white gloves and in doing so have allowed the mechanisms of facism and oligarchy work freely

BrainwashedScapegoat

"A shutdown falls on the president's lack of leadership. I mean, problems start from the top, and they have to get solved from the top. A shutdown means the president is weak."

-Donald J. Trump, 2013

Siafu_Soul

As an American, it seems that it's the Republicans fault. Why? Because they get what they want of the government is shut down or if the Dems cave and agree that negotiation isn't necessary. 

If the government is shut down, the president can use it as an excuse to garner more and more power, which he's been doing (see bombing of "drug" boats, sending trips to US cities, creating a false sense of urgency by refusing to provide food even though they already have the funds for this scenario, and trying to not babysit furloughed workers). 

If the Dems cave, then it's business as usual where they can continue to do whatever they want because they hold the three branches of government.

tev4short

The republicans have laid it out on the table; they will take away food stamps until the democrats agree to let them raise the rates on health care through the roof. Meanwhile they just borrowed 3.7 trillion to lower taxes for their friends.

smedlap

Who has control of the house, senate, and White House?

goodbye177

In the end, the people who voted for Trump are.

Holdthemuffins

if we withheld their paychecks this would never be an issue.

Ornery-Dragonfruit96

Objectively...it really is Trump more than just the Republican party or Dem party. There is some enabling going on but Trump doesn't want to negotiate. He feels he can float things long enough to make the Dems crack and then he has them broken and his base and their elected representation in his hand. 

I think it was March when the Dem leadership took a beating from their supporters for allowing the budget to go through that allowed some taxes to sunset. GOP said then they would not touch Medicaid/Medicare/SS and other programs...the Big Bill did all that and more. Now the Dems don't see they are dealing with a reliable partner.

slatchaw

slapdashjesse

Just a heads up that you’re going to get a lot of biased answers here. Just want you to know that if you’re looking for objective answers.

No_Use__For_A_Name

 The budget can pass with a simple majority. 

Which party has the majority in both congress and the senate? 

That's who's caused the shutdown.

Dry-Honeydew2371

This always happens in heated congressional disputes. Both parties accuse the other even when one party knows full well that their own people are at fault. You can see it in Speaker Mike Johnson’s face in hallway interviews. It’s a neat trick of modern technology that any bozo like me with a phone and a laptop can download his interviews from the past week and compare them to ones in March or April. Crestfallen is a word I think of.

So yeah, you can make a technical argument that the Democrats are causing all this problem because they won’t sign on the dotted line to gut Medicaid the ACA/Obama care and SNAP/food stamps drastically while at the same time giving a 3 1/2 trillion dollar tax cut to the wealthiest 5% among us, separated by a few hundred words of text in the same bill.  

Yeah, you can make that argument, but it would be wrong. The words unprecedented and historic are almost meaningless recently in the US. But hey, I would put this cutoff of food aid along with the destruction of the entire east wing of the White House last week as the breaking point starting point fulcrum straw that really pissed the camel off. And it has Donald Trump and the GOP’s fingerprints all over it.

Old, mad, blind, despised, and dying King DJT

Googlyelmoo

Reddit is going to tell you its Republicans. Dont need to read a single comment to know how the question was going to be answered. The government as a whole is failing the people. Not a single one of them is struggling. They keep getting richer on both sides of the aisle. None of them have to live by the rules that they put in place for the average citizen. Do you really think they feel the effect of half of the bills they pass? Are their medical benefits effected? Hell they are still getting a paycheck. That is Republicans and Democrats. They both play a part in keeping it shutdown.

fellofftheporch

I think it really comes down to our health care. We don’t have universal healthcare. The democrats got us healthcare through the Affordable Care Act which really is just insurance many have to buy. The prices of the insurance is extremely high for many, though not everyone. During Covid, the democrats subsidized the insurance which bought the cost down.  So now that they’re trying to put a budget together, republicans don’t want to continue with the subsidies, democrats do.  Democrats will argue that people will be left without healthcare without the subsidies; republicans say that the fact that the program doesn’t work without the subsidies show that its broken.  They could use a continuing resolution and open the government and debate the subsidies, but it seems like the subsidies have become the line in the sand.

parana72

Gobiortiz3377

The Republicans hold the congress, senate, and white house, as well as "non-partisan" bodies like the Supreme Court, but some votes require democrat support.

While Republicans use their majority to run rough shod over everything, with cutting funding to services but only for blue states, for sending ICE into blue cities to attrat, detain, assault and kidnap americnan citizens, and pissing on everyone but telling them its actually just raining, the democrats said "look, if youngsters us to back your bill, you need to compromise in good faith faith, we will only support it if you grant this and that" Republicans said "No.

Then a dmeocrat win an election and tips the balance on a controversial vote about the epstein files. Note its only controversial because one side wants to protect pedos. So the Republicans figured "Ok, lets not negotiate over the shutdown, if government shuts down, the new democrat isn't sworn in, if she's not sworn in, there is no epstein vote and rhe pedos stay safe"

So democrats say "Look, your getting real close to zero hour, a government shutdown will hurt alot of people, both red and blue" and the Republicans said "those are a sacrifice we're willing to make, get wrekt libs! We must protect pedophiles"

And the shutdown down happened.

So its kind of like when an abusive husband blames his battered wife for leaving him no option but to HAVE to beat her because she's just too much of a bitch to let him do whatever he wants, like get drunk for 23 hours a day and fuck the neighbour, and the neighbours underage daughter.

Tallproley

PARTS of the government can last, but there are lots of things closed that don’t affect the entire population. That’s why some people are suffering more than others, as well. 

Come December, it will be impossible not to feel the bite from it because there won’t be any more emergency SNAP benefit funds left. TSA and air traffic will likely shut down and that will be the only thing that gets Congress negotiating instead of being stubborn. 

 I feel bad for those who desperately need SNAP funds right now, but they were going to gut this program forever. Dems need to hold out for it, and the same goes for ACA funding. People can’t pay these insane insurance premiums, especially those on SNAP.

User-19643

I think it'll resolved before Thanksgiving. It's gonna be a disaster if the TSA is still being required to work for free during the holiday rush. Lots of them are gonna call in sick. Not a time you want worker shortages. And the recent election made it pretty clear voters do not at all blame Democrats for this shutdown. I think after Dems won pretty much everything Tues night, the GOP is going to be much more willing to come to the table. Least that's my guess. That's what a rational GOP would do. But they've got a lot wingnuts in office now who I could see insisting they keep going with the shutdown. I think a lot of them genuinely don't give af if it ever ends. They just want to see the government burn.

My-Cooch-Jiggles

Heard theory it is because Files. Also they got nothing else to do. (I.e., no other job to do, so blocking Works is what is done to stop Dems picking it up)

press_F13

Because our leaders prefer desperate people being victimized by crumbling systems. The cost to the nation and the breakdown of basic functions like air travel is the purpose. It puts America in a vulnerable position that's easier to exploit.

FiddleStyxxxx

Personally I'm about fed the hell up with these 2 parties having a goddamned power play for office so much that neither can actually get anything done that concerns the people. 

It's not a government, it's a 3 ring circus full of acts that have no ability. 

They spend 4 years trying to figure out how to get on, or stay in and don't do jack shit for the public other than take money to fund the shit show.

CelebrationOther7577

The federal government isn’t actually important.

Mr_Commando

It will last until the budget is passed. Who's gonna make them turn back on? Government 2?

Angel_OfSolitude

The longer it stays shut down is the more apparent it becomes that it's just a scam. I hope they all die of old age before they figure it out

faeriegoatmother

Because Article 1 grants appropriation power solely to Congress and doesn't put any sort of time limit on that. It could never be funded again in theory.

usefulchickadee

I hate the government. I am super happy right now.

SideEmbarrassed1611

 Excuse Magats are literal terrorists. Period.

Dazzling_Wind2933

Momentofclarity_2022

Because the people in charge of all 3 branches don’t give a shit about governing or about people.

Resident-Ad-3371

Because the people who are letting it happen are so insolated from feeling the actual effects from it, whilst still getting that sweet sweet lobbyist money, they don’t care.

[deleted]

If I don’t do my job I lose it. In my option we really need to fix this with an amendment. I also believe we should have a no confidence voting method so if our reps or other government officials lose our faith we have a method of removing them. 

It is lasting this long because the government is failing the people. Rather than negotiating the house has chosen to not do their job. Trump rather than using his position as a party leader has chosen to finger point. Rather than using his seat as president to force the house back into session he has chosen to abandon that role. So basically two of the three branches have been delinquent in their duties.

Forgotten_lostdreams

AmputeeHandModel

Why? Because both sides are run by stubborn old mules that refuse to realise the only ones suffering are the ones they say they're protecting by refusing to budge.

gilbert10ba

People in here who say things like the government isn't important are simpletons. 

The longer the shut down, the more you will see thru chain reactions. 

We've seen the FAA struggle and SNAP not go out. But that's the start. 

FDA isn't inspecting food and not getting recalls out like they should. Listeria, e.coli and salmonella outbreaks can become more common. Meat inspections aren't happening, food with abscesses are making their way into homes. When people don't have snap, and meat prices are going up, people can't afford to lose money on bad food. 

Government funds and loans aren't going out. Small businesses rely on those. Students rely on fafsa. How long are companies and institutions able to go without payments? That doesn't even touch the businesses that have government contracts that aren't getting paid for work. 

People who have insurance they government will see hold ups.

Supply chains will see delays. Customs and imports will take longer, if they come thru at all. 

There's an estimated 15-30% of people who's livelihood depends on government payments either thru direct employment or indirect funding/ contracts. As this goes on longer, more people are losing money. 

When people can't pay loans, mortgages, rent - personal debt goes up and foreclosures increase. As people tighten their spending, businesses that rely on discretionary spending start hurting. Even if your insulated financially, will your property value go down as foreclosures increase? Will your quality of life go down as the places you enjoy going to are going out of business? 

The longer this goes on, the wider the cracks you'll see, the more people you'll see hurt.

Successful_Role9734

As long as Congress gets paid nothing else matters.

Small-Olive-7960

jrb196

The federal government matters far less than local government, and there are lots of slacks to be cut.

Which-Travel-1426

Because in four months the purge starts happening. People start dying, small conflicts break out, laws no longer matter.

Phearcia

The question is…what if neither side feels they need to budge?  Trump isn’t running again. It’s unclear to me what the democrats actually want. I honestly don’t know why we are closed at this point, but now nobody wants to be the one that blinks. 

There’s no way we don’t see a complete collapse of air traffic by thanksgiving. Probably by next week. SNAP runs out of funds around thanksgiving.

MyTnotE

It can't. 

The shutdown is costing the government an extra $2 billion dollars a day.

Meanwhile, people who work "essential jobs" are legally required to continue working with no pay. But that won't last forever. Right now people are emptying their retirement accounts and loading up on credit cards to get by. Eventually there won't be any money left and the only option will be to get different jobs.

Then people will realize that life without government really sucks. The longer it goes on the more essential services will be affected. If it goes on long enough states that rely on federal funding will start being severely impacted. Schools will have to take radical action to keep running properly - 13-14% of schools are funded by federal funds.

For places like where I live, which runs one of the largest naval repair yards in the country, it will be much worse. ~10% of the civilian workforce here is directly employed by the government. Without it, the whole area essentially becomes a ghost town.

These are just the surface level changes. A 3 month shutdown is basically a guaranteed major recession. The government at that point has just stopped paying the rent, so to speak. National parks are closed and abandoned, including all national monuments.

Social Security offices stop being manned at some point. The IRS fails to collect taxes. Essentially, the entire system collapses.

If it makes it to 4 months, we're talking secession as states start going their own way to try and restore basic services.

GirdedByApathy

Trump is trying to destroy the USA. That’s your answer.

schlomoweinstein

Must not be that important. Hasn’t noticeably affected my life one bit.

2006CrownVictoriaP71

Maybe this is an asshole take but if govt shuts down than congressmembers assets should be frozen until.it reopens. Maybe that will get them.off their asses and negotiate and get things reopened.

charge556

Air Traffic Controllers working through Thanksgiving with no pay for over a month. That sounds brutal. I’ve never been able to afford air travel. Cry me a river….

Herb_avore_05

This passed Tuesday will either make Republicans realize they have to negotiate, or they will double down and refuse to open until they are voted out and not given a choice.

orbitaldragon

Because the government is not shut down. The government is just not able to borrow more money. It is effectively forcing a balanced budget, but done in such a way that Trump gets to say what is funded and what is not. Congress shutting down the government is ceding authority to Trump at the cost of our social programs.

dogsiwm

Grifasaurus

My take is that Trump wants federal employees away from desks so he can cause more havoc. He’s happy the shit down is going on.

Wind_Responsible

No-Assistance476

I think this will last until the Big Beautiful Bill take effect. 


And the BBB does not include money for three months of back pay.

Additional-Sky-7436

This whole situation is by design. Everything is by design.

PsyRealize

ExcellentWinner7542

Filling a CR with a bunch of legislation is the reason we get into so many of these shutdowns in the past 20 years. It doesn’t belong in it. It’s a poison pill because you can’t get everyone to agree on it. Nothing wrong with debating healthcare and improving it. You realize there are many different solutions to the healthcare debate. It isn’t like throwing more money and subsidies into a failed program is the only way to save poor people’s healthcare. That needs debated and worked on with bipartisan support….but that doesn’t belong in a simple open the govt and pay its workers and fund its programs. Debating how best to fund healthcare belongs in committees and debate of ideas on the floor and then compromise and agreement on a bill and passed. You can’t just hold people hostage to get your way.

ACK_TRON

Why can it last? Because the speaker won't call the House to session to work on a new resolution because then the House could vote on the Epstein files release. Until then the Senate on has the "Clean" CR to vote on which only lasts until Nov 21st anyways.

neverthesaneagain

To give us all irrefutable proof that government is a farce and no one really needs it to keep society functioning.

DocumentLeather7760

Democrats are doing what the republicans did when Biden was president. They do it to each other so the party in power looks bad. The only thing consistently right is the Gods word 1st Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is the root of all evil.”

No_Selection9289

Repugs don't want the Epstein files released.  They may never reopen the government.

DistrictDue1913

Easy

Both sides of the equation are refusing to budge. As such, no forward movement can happen. Both sides will blame the other side. Neither side will acknowledge their part in this. 

This is because tribalism has become the main political point in the US.

JoJoTheDogFace

Trump is the Epstein list. This is all a distraction.

BigTribs914

The US federal government shutdown, now entering its sixth week, has left millions of federal employees without pay and disrupted essential services such as air travel and food assistance programs.

US Government Shutdown

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