The U.S. federal government’s partial shutdown, triggered by a failure to pass a budget in Congress due to a standoff between Republicans and Democrats, has continued for nine days. With neither party showing signs of compromise, President Donald Trump has maintained a hardline stance, threatening to cut budgets for government programs prioritized by Democrats.

During a White House cabinet meeting, Trump accused "radical left lunatics" of causing the government shutdown, claiming that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and congressional Democrats are "holding the entire federal government hostage."The shutdown, now in its ninth day, began after Congress failed to pass a budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which started on October 1, forcing the suspension of non-essential government operations.

Both Republicans and Democrats have attempted to pass a temporary spending bill to keep the government running in the short term while continuing negotiations for the 2026 fiscal year budget. However, significant differences in their positions have prevented a compromise. Amid the deadlock, the Trump administration is pressuring Democrats by warning that a prolonged shutdown could lead to budget cuts for certain government programs and mass layoffs of federal employees.

At the cabinet meeting, Trump declared, "We will make permanent cuts, and we will cut only Democratic programs." He added, "We’ll cut programs that are unpopular with Republicans but popular with Democrats. Since the Democrats wanted this [shutdown], we’ll give it right back to them." It remains uncertain how much of Trump’s threats will materialize or to what extent they are a negotiation tactic.

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other Republican leaders have urged the White House to exercise restraint, citing concerns that large-scale layoffs and cuts to programs supporting vulnerable populations could spark a voter backlash. The WSJ noted signs that the Trump administration is listening to these concerns, as it has not yet laid off federal employees and has proposed using tariff revenues to fund food assistance programs for low-income groups.

On the same day, both Republican and Democratic temporary budget proposals were put to a vote in the Senate but failed to secure the 60 votes needed to pass.While Republican leadership plans to push for another vote, the deadlock is unlikely to be resolved unless more Democrats break ranks, which appears unlikely based on current prospects.ABC News reported that the budget standoff shows no clear end in sight, and Politico noted that with no additional defections from either side since last week, there are no signs Congress is close to a breakthrough.

As both parties blame each other and fail to find common ground, Republicans have seized on Senate Minority Leader Schumer’s comment from an interview the previous day, where he stated, "We’re getting better every day" regarding the shutdown. Trump countered, "In reality, it’s getting worse for Democrats every day," accusing Schumer of acting for partisan interests rather than the public good.

Republicans are advocating for a "clean" temporary budget that maintains spending at the previous year’s levels, while Democrats are pushing to include extensions for subsidies related to public healthcare programs like Obamacare in the temporary budget. However, analysts suggest that Democrats’ refusal to accept Republican demands to normalize government operations before debating contentious issues may stem from deeper frustrations with the Trump administration’s unilateral approach to governance.

The Democratic leadership faced criticism within and outside the party for cooperating with Republicans on a temporary budget in March without leveraging their strongest bargaining chip, leading to accusations of surrendering too easily. The New York Times (NYT) reported that Democrats are convinced Trump is abusing his authority and cannot be trusted to honor traditional political agreements, and this conviction is driving their continued confrontation over the shutdown. The NYT cited instances of Trump withholding congressionally mandated government spending, deploying the military to U.S. cities, using government power to retaliate against political opponents, and pursuing aggressive immigration enforcement, noting that Democratic anger over these extreme policies and tactics is a key factor in the prolonged stalemate.

Source: Yonhap News