The 2025 U S Government Shutdown

by, Renee Wood

A Relational Breakdown Masquerading As A Legislative Impasse

Have you ever been in a long-term relationship where both you and the other person cannot see eye to eye? It goes beyond just minor disagreements. No one agrees on everything no matter how much you respect or love the other person. What usually keeps the relationship going is trust. Trust that even though one might have a different opinion, that you collectively and respectfully work together in good faith to solve an issue. Oftentimes that means compromise. However, when you start to do little things to one another that erodes that trust to the point that it’s difficult to come together and talk – even when it’s to agree to disagree – that relationship is on the verge of collapse. A relationship is over when both parties are so distrustful of one another that they have no desire to talk things out and come to some good faith resolution, even when their kid’s welfare is at stake.

Governments don’t collapse overnight. It’s a slow downhill erosion of trust that creates a downhill effect – not only in Congress, but in the society as well. We are seeing the beginnings of that collapse. Like I said it won’t happen overnight, and it can be rectified before it gets to that point – but it has to start now!

Let’s break this down a little bit so we can really understand what’s going on. A continuing resolution (CR) is a bill that supplies temporary funding to keep the government open. It’s perfectly legitimate to pass a clean continuing resolution bill with no other legislation attached – that’s why it’s referred to as a clean CR – no policy or anything else is attached. It’s only temporary funding to keep the government open as Congress negotiates other policies. It’s just as legitimate to pass a continuing resolution bill with legislation attached. From a legal standpoint either path is valid. From a political standpoint – order matters. It’s about leverage.

The Democrats are holding out passing the CR bill this time over concerns that the Pandemic renewal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) premiums – scheduled to end in November – will drive up premiums on low-income, mostly working Americans 25% to 75%. Whereas to Republicans procedure matters, and they want to pass the clean CR bill first, and negotiate passing the Pandemic Renewal after the government is open.

Other reasons Democrats mistrust Republican’s good faith is in the past there has been a long-standing GOP effort to repeal or defund the Affordable Care Act. What it comes down to is differing ideologies – is healthcare considered a public good, or a market commodity. (Just yesterday it was relayed to me that when somebody was discussing my services coming through property taxes, I was referred to as “a public burden”. I thought; “Wow, I haven’t heard that term in a long time).

Another example is, when the Democrats agreed to open the government in 2018 because they had shutdown related to the DACA program, the Republicans agreed to address it once the government was open, but once the government was opened, the Republicans stalled negotiations on DACA and put it on the back burner and it never got resolved.

Republicans also have historical reasons for not trusting the Democrats, although theirs is more situational than systemic. In the past Republicans point to Democrats changing demands in the middle of negotiations. For example, in the past Democrats have agreed to a clean CR bill only to add on policy riders later.

Also, even when both are responsible for the gridlock, oftentimes the messaging through the media and polls, paints the Republicans as solely responsible. This adds to Republican frustration and distrust. Another thing is sometimes Democrats use shutdowns to push policy agendas.

Finally, in the past when Democrats agreed on bipartisan policy negotiations such as border security and regulatory reforms, but then deprioritized them after the government opened.

Can Congress function without hostage-taking, or is leverage the only language left?

As you can see, both have legitimate reasons for mistrust. How do you start to rebuild that relationship when trust is not there? Somewhere along the way, I believe it was in church, I heard that the bigger person will reach out their hand first – even at the potential cost of getting their hands slapped one more time. That could work if someone wanted to be the bigger person. In today’s world, that is viewed as weakness by most. 

The scenario above is kind of like a family who have some children in need of some kind of healthcare on top of food needs, and other children who only need food, with backup healthcare just in case something goes wrong. The parents have to work together to make sure all the kids’ needs are met, but there’s arguments and distrust over which child needs what, and who’s going to pay for all this. Meanwhile, the very kids that they claim they love and care for, are going without food and the healthcare premiums are about ready to rise anyway – so who are they really helping – except their own “I’m-right-fight”?

Can this issue be solved? Yes. Strategically if both parties stop the “I’m-right-fight” and recognize the other side’s valid reasons for the mutual mistrust (It doesn’t mean they have to agree with the viewpoint, but they need to own the things they’ve done to erode the trust of the other side). Then they could open up the government with a short-term CR bill that has an agreement to negotiate on the Affordable Care Act, with a measurable timeline and conditions that have to be met within that timeline. If conditions are not met in that timely fashion, automatic triggers for consequences laid out in the CR would go into effect. Ordinarily it shouldn’t have to be this way, but it is one way to build trust and ensure each side is not going to be duped again by the other side.

The Slow Unraveling of a Republic

A government doesn’t collapse with guns, bombs and a coups. It collapses when people stop believing it can work. When citizens lose faith that their leaders will act in good conscience. When compromise is seen as weakness and negotiation becomes a dirty word. It starts with shutdowns that drag on, then turns into agencies that can’t function, services that don’t reach the people, and communities that feel abandoned. The erosion of trust in Congress becomes an erosion of trust in democracy itself. And if that continues long enough, the republic doesn’t fall — it fades. Not because of one party or another, but because no one was willing to reach across the divide and say, “Let’s fix this before it’s too late.

Conclusion

So here we are. A government shutdown that’s not just about budgets or healthcare, but about trust — or the lack of it. Both sides have their reasons, and both sides have their wounds. But if nobody’s willing to reach out, even knowing they might get slapped, then we’re not just failing to govern — we’re failing each other. The republic doesn’t need perfect agreement. It needs people who care enough to try. And if we can’t do that, then maybe we’re not as strong as we thought. But if we can — if even one person reaches out and the other takes their hand — then maybe, just maybe, we can start to rebuild what’s been lost.

Government Shutdown References