The Hypocrisy of Government Shutdowns: How Politicians Change Their Stance When It Serves Their Agenda

Washington:

When the US government shut down in 2013, Donald Trump, then a business mogul not yet involved in politics, advocated for bipartisan cooperation. "You have to get people in a room, and you have to just make deals for the good of the country," he stated.

Fast forward to his presidency, and Trump's stance has dramatically shifted. His administration and Republican colleagues now refuse to negotiate with Democrats in a shutdown that Republicans claim was initiated by the opposition.

This pattern of contradictory positions isn't unique to Trump. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer previously criticized those who "amazingly believe that causing a shutdown is somehow a good thing, if it gets them what they want." Yet currently, Schumer and most Democrats are blocking government funding bills because they're demanding specific healthcare provisions.

Washington veterans have likely argued both sides of a government shutdown at some point. Both parties have wielded the threat of closures as leverage for policy objectives, while simultaneously condemning their opponents for identical tactics. Everyone claims to despise shutdowns while insisting public opinion favors their position—whether that position supports a shutdown or not.

"Everybody just makes the mistake of believing in the righteousness of their positions, and it blinds them to the reality of shutdowns," explained Brendan Buck, former top aide to Republican House Speakers. "It's a political messaging exercise framed as a negotiating tactic, but there's very little evidence that it really serves a policymaking purpose."

Few politicians maintain consistent positions on shutdown politics. Vice President JD Vance, during his Senate tenure last year, advocated using funding lapses as Republican leverage: "Why shouldn't we be trying to force this government shutdown fight to get something out of it that's good for the American people?"

Now in the executive branch, Vance argues it's "not reasonable" for Democrats to use their proposals "as leverage and to shut down the government unless we give you everything you want."

Similarly, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren once argued for passing short-term funding bills as "the bare minimum" to "keep the doors open and the lights on." Now, she has twice voted against such measures, stating: "We just want Republicans to restore the health care coverage they took away from millions of Americans."

What changes between shutdown scenarios is the specific policy demanded by the initiating party. In 2013, Republicans led by Ted Cruz insisted on defunding the Affordable Care Act, resulting in a 16-day shutdown. In January 2018, Democrats demanded protections for "Dreamers" immigrants, leading to a three-day closure. Later in Trump's presidency, his border wall funding demands triggered a 35-day partial shutdown.

One consistent pattern emerges: the party forcing the shutdown rarely achieves its objectives. The Affordable Care Act remained funded, Democrats only secured a vote on "Dreamers" protections, and Trump had to declare a national emergency for border wall funding. History suggests Democrats may not secure their current demands for healthcare subsidy extensions and Medicaid cut reversals.

Michael Thorning, former aide to Senator Tom Udall and now director at the Bipartisan Policy Center, believes shutdowns occur more frequently because both parties have concluded "that the public is not going to punish them at the polls."

When asked about Trump's previous shutdown comments, the White House initially provided an automatic message noting "resulting from the Democrat Shutdown, the typical 24/7 monitoring of this press inbox may experience delays."

Later, spokeswoman Abigail Jackson responded that "Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are so desperate to distract from their decision to shut down the government that they're making the AP write stories on their week old Instagram posts," referencing Schumer's account highlighting Trump's 2013 comments.

"Here's the truth: Democrats shut down the government because they want free health care for illegal aliens and they know it hurts the American people," Jackson asserted. "Just listen to their own statements."