Posted on Wednesday, November 5, 2025
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by Alan Jamison
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1 Comments
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The current federal government shutdown is now officially the longest in history. As of Wednesday, the government has remained shut for 36 days. The previous record was held by the shutdown that lasted for 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019.
Before government funding expired on October 1 of this year, House Republicans passed a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government open at current spending levels through November 21.
Senate Democrats have refused to vote to pass the CR unless it includes a full list of demands totaling more than $1 trillion. The most expensive and controversial item is a permanent extension of the “temporary” Obamacare premium subsidies passed as part of a Biden-era spending bill in 2022. The subsidies, which were supposed to be a temporary COVID-19 relief measure, would cost more than $400 billion over the next decade alone.
The Senate requires at least 60 votes to pass most legislation, including spending bills. Thus far, only three Senate Democrats have crossed the aisle to vote with Republicans to reopen the government. On Tuesday, Democrats voted for the 14th time to block the CR.
It’s also worth noting that the funding levels in the CR are the same as those passed during the Biden administration. Senate Democrats have voted to extend that CR no less than 13 times under Presidents Biden and Trump, but are now refusing to pass it again unless their demands are met – despite the fact that they lost last year’s elections in resounding fashion.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called out Democrats on Tuesday for effectively holding the government hostage, which is now causing major delays at airports and preventing Americans from receiving services like SNAP benefits.
“This past weekend, Americans traveling to weddings, funerals, vacations, and meetings faced significant flight disruptions at airports across the country because of staffing shortages,” Leavitt said. “On Sunday alone, more than 5,000 flights traveling to and from U.S. airports were delayed. Since the Democrat shutdown began, four times as many staffing shortages have been reported at air traffic control facilities compared to last year.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has warned that if the shutdown extends into next week, the Federal Aviation Administration may have to begin shutting down certain sections of U.S. airspace due to safety concerns, a situation he says would lead to “mass chaos.”
“I hope that Democrats come to their senses and end this shutdown. I don’t even know what they’re asking for,” Duffy said. “I have no idea – what is this shutdown over? I don’t know. Do they want to negotiate? I don’t know what they want. They say they have leverage by this shutdown, but they’re getting leverage by way of hurting the American people.”
On October 31, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) union – which represents nearly 20,000 air traffic controllers – encouraged Democrats to pass a clean CR to reopen the government.
NATCA President Nick Daniels explained in the union’s statement that he “supports any measure that would end this shutdown and pay our members.” He said that refusing to reopen the government could have dangerous consequences.
“During the shutdown, these professionals are required to oversee the movement of the nation’s passengers and cargo while many are working ten-hour days and six-day workweeks due to the ongoing staffing shortage, all without pay,” Daniels said. “This situation creates substantial distractions for individuals who are already engaged in extremely stressful work. The financial and mental strain increases risks within the National Airspace System, making it less safe with each passing day of the shutdown.”
NATCA is not the first prominent union that is normally friendly to Democrat interests to push for Democrats to join Republicans in passing a clean CR. As AMAC Newsline previously reported, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union called on Senate Democrats to pass a “clean continuing resolution” just a few days prior to NATCA. The AFGE represents more than 800,000 federal workers and notably endorsed Kamala Harris in the presidential election last year.
America’s four largest airlines have also called on Democrats to reopen the government. In late October, United, Delta, American, and Southwest airlines all urged passage of a clean CR.
Democrats have ignited outrage on the left and the right for referring to Americans suffering as a result of the shutdown as “leverage,” indicating that they are intentionally inflicting pain on families in a cynical attempt to extract political concessions from Republicans.
However, there are some signs that the stalemate may be thawing, and Democrats could be looking for an “off-ramp” from the fiasco. As Punchbowl News reported on Tuesday, enough Democrats could strike a deal with Republicans for a separate vote on extending Obamacare premium subsidies in exchange for reopening the government. That vote could come as soon as later this week.
Alan Jamison is the pen name of a political writer with extensive experience writing for several notable politicians and news outlets.
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