The Real Story Behind the Government Shutdown
For once, Democrats have leverage. But if they can’t unify around a strong message, they risk wasting their best opportunity to push back against GOP extremism and Musk’s overreach.
CALL YOUR SENATORS, SCRIPT: I’m calling to demand to you vote NO on any spending bill that does not include a restriction on Elon Musk’s unconstitutional powers.
edited to add: As of March 11 at 8pm the House voted Yes on the spending bill. Call your SENATORS only.
Right now, Democrats are facing a brutal choice. Do they vote to fund the government, ensuring federal employees get paid but allowing Elon Musk to continue his unfettered assault on these agencies and the federal budget unchecked? Or do they take a stand, demand real accountability, and risk being blamed for a shutdown?
It’s a classic dilemma: do you play by the system’s rules, even when those rules are rigged, or do you disrupt the system itself?
That’s exactly the kind of moment Alencia Johnson, our EYP interviewee this week (full interview coming out Thursday), has spent her career thinking about. She’s worked behind the scenes on presidential campaigns, fought for reproductive rights at Planned Parenthood, and advised some of the biggest brands and movements on how to turn values into action. In her new book, Flip the Tables, Alencia argues that real change isn’t about politely asking for a seat, it’s about tearing down systems that were never built to serve us in the first place. And, as she sees it, the biggest barrier to that kind of disruption isn’t just political opposition. It’s fear. Fear of being labeled difficult. Fear of taking a stand and losing. Fear of being the one to say, ‘Enough.’
That fear is exactly what we’re watching play out in Congress. Democrats know that shutting down the government will hurt real people. But people are already hurting! And they also know that if they don’t draw a line somewhere, they’ll continue enabling billionaires like Musk to hoard power unchecked. This is the tension Alencia writes about, the impossible choice between keeping things functioning today versus fighting for a radically different tomorrow.
But first - What is happening?
On March 14, government funding for the federal budget expires, and unless Congress passes a spending bill, the government will technically shut down. Right now, there’s a standoff between Democrats and Republicans, not just over spending cuts, but over whether Congress should include restraints on Elon Musk’s growing influence over federal agencies in the new bill.
Government funding gets confusing fast, so here’s a quick breakdown of the key terms at play:
Budget: This is the big picture plan for how the government spends money. Every year, Congress is supposed to pass a federal budget that outlines spending on everything from Social Security to defense to healthcare. Tax cuts can be passed through this process. The Budget can pass through a process called reconciliation, which has a 50-vote threshold in the Senate.
Spending Bill: While the budget sets the overall plan, spending bills (also called appropriations bills) are what actually fund government programs. Congress must pass these bills to keep the government running. When they don’t, we get a shutdown. Spending bills have a 60-vote threshold in the Senate.
Continuing Resolution: This is the most confusing of them all. When Congress can’t agree on a full budget or spending bills in time, they pass a “continuing resolution” to temporarily extend funding at current appropriated levels.
Caveat: The Social Security retirement program and Medicare and Medicaid are not included in this bill because they are considered “mandatory spending.”
Think of a continuing resolution as Congress hitting the snooze button on making real decisions. Continuing resolutions don’t last forever, and when they expire lawmakers either pass new funding or the government shuts down. A continuing resolution is a spending bill, therefore it has a 60-vote threshold in the Senate. And, most importantly, it just buys them time they don’t deserve when they’ve been wreaking havoc since the inauguration.
How is this going to work?
Because spending bills need 60 votes in the Senate, at least 7 Senate Democrats must vote for the bill for it to pass. And at least one House Republican (Thomas Massie) has said he will not vote for a continuing resolution. That gives Democrats real leverage in the negotiations, and they’re currently raising alarms about two key issues (as they should):
Reining in Elon Musk’s unchecked power over federal agencies.
Opposing Republican spending cuts that would weaken key public services.
What exactly is in the Continuing Resolution?
The House released a 99 page draft bill over the weekend. One thing that makes this already confusing situation even more confusing is that the Republicans’ Continuing Resolution includes a $7 billion spending cut. Is that really a continuing resolution or a way to sneak cuts in when you are pretending to kick the can down the road?
Well, ACTUALLY, they are cutting about $13 billion in non-defense spending and then increasing defense spending by $6 billion.
House Democrats have already circulated an internal memo urging everyone to vote no.
The Big Question: Should Senate Democrats Force a Shutdown?
Shutting down the government isn’t something Democrats want to do, because it means federal workers go without pay and key services grind to a halt. But this time, some Democrats are seriously considering it as a way to take a stand. We are living in a world where federal workers are regularly fired without cause and funding is withheld with no justification. Where a billionaire with no empathy is destroying our government from the inside. I’m not suggesting a shutdown, I’m just saying it’s not business as usual right now, so Democrats should play the game and extract a concession or two.
According to reports, senior House Democrats have been privately surveying members about whether to shut down the government over DOGE cuts. Some still say they won’t do it. According to Reuters:
Moderate Democratic U.S. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said he would reject a possible shutdown, adding, "That's chaos. I'll never vote for chaos."
Similarly, liberal Democratic U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, signaled he was against a shut down, "Shutdowns are a bad idea. I'm not a shutdown guy."
But some are taking a different approach. Moderate U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin, who delivered her party's rebuttal to Trump's speech to Congress last week, said she saw little reason to support the bill at a time when Trump and Musk's cost-cutting campaign is ignoring prior congressional direction on spending.
"Until I see some assurances that whatever we pass next week is going to ensure that the money is spent the way Congress intends... I'm going to withhold my vote," the Michigan Democrat told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.
Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), the top Democratic appropriator, says the House’s continuing resolution only enables Trump and Musk to keep slashing federal payrolls at will. She released a seven-page memo on Saturday night outlining her concerns.