The tide is starting to turn against Republicans on the topic of the government shutdown, which is likely why Donald Trump is getting back into the fray.
Just a few days ago, the public was overwhelmingly behind the GOP on the standoff, but messaging from Democrats now seems to be hitting home more than that coming from Republicans.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was doing a good job up to this point, and he is hoping to get the ship righted by going back after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) for proposing a shutdown debate on live TV.
During the first few days of the shutdown, it was the GOP that was winning the messaging war, as even Democrats were split down the middle over who was to fault for the impasse.
However, on Monday, new polls were released, and public sentiment has moved strongly against Republicans.
For instance, the latest CBS News poll on the subject found that 39% of respondents blame Trump and Republicans for the standoff, while 33% blame Democrats, and 31% blame them both equally.
The poll also found that 52% of respondents disapproved of the way that Trump is handling the situation, which is likely what led the president to break his silence on the matter Monday night.
Trump watches polls like a hawk, and whether he agrees with them or not, he will react to the numbers to get them back in his favor, and that is what he did Monday evening.
The president posted to Truth Social, "Democrats have SHUT DOWN the United States Government right in the midst of one of the most successful Economies, including a Record Stock Market, that our Country has ever had. This has sadly affected so many programs, services, and other elements of Society that Americans rely on — And it should not have happened.”
He continued, "I am happy to work with the Democrats on their Failed Healthcare Policies, or anything else, but first they must allow our Government to re-open. In fact, they should open our Government tonight!"
As I noted in my previous report, one way to put pressure on Democrats would be to create freestanding legislation to extend the healthcare subsidies for Obamacare, for which Democrats claim they are fighting. You write and pass that, Dems have no more reason to hold up the continuing resolution unless they are looking for the inclusion of other sorts of funding, which they will never admit is the case (but they really are).
Jeffries was hoping to get Johnson on stage to debate the shutdown, but Johnson called out the offer for what it was… a political stunt.
Johnson stated, "When the poll says that about 13% of the people approve of your messaging, then you make desperate pleas for attention, and that's what Hakeem Jeffries has done.”
He continued, "We debated all this on the House floor. As you know, before we passed our bill, he spoke for seven or eight minutes. He had all of his colleagues lined up. They gave it their best shot, and they argued, and they stomped their feet and screamed at us and all that. And still we passed the bill in bipartisan fashion and sent it over to the Senate."
I would actually like to see such a debate, but not with Johnson as the GOP's representative. The speaker can often come off a bit standoffish and snooty, but Jeffries is a hot mess when he speaks off the cuff in public. I would tell Jeffries that the debate is a go, but I would put Vice President JD Vance on the dais instead, as he is someone who would wipe the floor with the Democrat leader. Regardless, pressure is now being applied, and with momentum swinging, I think Republicans will offer the subsidies to get Dems to back the CR. It just seems like the smart move at this point. But I would do it as separate legislation and not as part of the CR.
