Democrats Signal That It's Time to Wave the White Flag on Schumer Shutdown

The Schumer shutdown is nearing its one-month mark, and there are signs that there might be some slight cracks in the Democrats’ armor.

Unlike previous government shutdowns, the optics surrounding the shutdown have not been good for Democrats. It seems they might be realizing this.

The Hill reported that Senate Democrats might be looking for ways to end the shutdown without looking like they capitulated to Republicans.

Senate Democrats are taking a close look at a Republican proposal to pay all federal employees — including essential and furloughed workers — as they’re under new pressure from the nation’s largest federal workers union to pass a clean continuing resolution to reopen the government.
They also plan to introduce legislation to pay for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and extend funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, which provides essential nutrition assistance for lower income mothers.
The developments reveal Democrats are looking for a way to ease the impact of the four-week shutdown on federal workers who are struggling to pay their daily expenses and on lower income Americans who may soon run out of food.
Publicly, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and his leadership team are sticking to their arguments that President Trump needs to start negotiating on health insurance subsidies before they agree to reopen the government.
At the same time, Democrats are feeling intense pressure to end the shutdown in a way that gives them a political win — or at least a face-saving off-ramp from the stalemate that has stalled Washington for nearly 30 days.

Healthcare is one of the Democrats’ primary sticking points. They are demanding that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, set to expire at the end of the year, be extended. Democratic lawmakers also want to reverse cuts to Medicare and Medicaid that were made under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that passed earlier this year.

Conversely, Republicans are insisting on a clean continuing resolution, arguing that the Democrats’ issues should be dealt with at a later date in separate legislation.

Senate Democrats have continued to block the clean stopgap measure that was passed in the House. The bill has failed to pass 13 times so far. This could have some concerning effects on tens of millions of Americans, as funding for welfare programs like food stamps will run out this month. This means there will be no funding in November, just before the holidays.

Meanwhile, federal workers are either working without pay, or are being furloughed.

Democrats want President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans to negotiate with them over the issue of healthcare premiums, which will rise if the subsidies expire. One senator told The Hill that “nobody wants to be shut down” and that Democrats are “trying to figure out what we want from [Republicans].”

Even CNN isn't buying Democrats' lies about the shutdown anymore.

JAKE TAPPER: "This is ... a choice by Senate Democrats to not vote to open the government."

MELANIE STANSBURY: "No it is not."

TAPPER: "Yes it is." pic.twitter.com/b6BoHxA1wb
— GOP (@GOP) October 29, 2025

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) has floated a $20 billion healthcare fix, far less than Democrats previously requested, according to The New York Post. This suggests that Democrats might be willing to accept a watered-down healthcare measure.

At this point, Democrats appear to recognize that they are losing this battle. Approval for congressional Republicans has jumped amid the Schumer shutdown. At the same time, many Americans are afraid of losing their SNAP benefits, which has prompted food pantries across the country to prepare for a deluge of new clients.

Of course, the challenge for Democrats is finding a way to support reopening the government without looking like losers. But either way this goes, this fiasco is not going to redound favorably on them — even if they manage to find an “off-ramp.”

Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.

Help us continue to report the truth about the Schumer Shutdown. Use promo code POTUS47 to get 74% off your VIP membership.