With less than two days until a potential federal government shutdown, they are facing two options: Either back a Republican plan to keep the government open, and give away their first bit of leverage since President Donald Trump took office. Or force a shutdown that many worry would only lead to deeper cuts to the federal workforce.
“You have two things that are truly abhorrent. When you get to that level, it’s hard to rank one versus the other. That’s why it’s a hard decision,” says Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado. “They are both such great evils.”
Why We Wrote This
A government shutdown could happen on March 14 if the House and Senate can’t agree on a bill. After the House passed a bill with basically only Republican votes, Senate Democrats are facing a difficult set of choices, with no good options.
House Republicans passed a bill on Tuesday that would keep the government open through September, while handing more power to President Trump to shift around funds, cutting real domestic spending, and punishing the District of Columbia by forcing the city to make deep spending cuts even though its budget is funded by local taxpayer money.
Democrats are outraged at the provisions, and are facing fierce demands from their base to do something, anything, to stand up to Mr. Trump as he and billionaire Elon Musk slash the government workforce. But if they force a shutdown starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning, many worry it will backfire. The Trump administration will be in charge of implementing that shutdown, which means it will determine which workers are “essential” and must keep working for no pay, and which can be sent home. And as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts a wide swath through the federal workforce, Democrats worry that could make it even easier for the administration to fire people – while putting the blame on them.
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland speaks to members of the media at the Capitol in Washington, March 12, 2025.
While Republicans have often leveraged government shutdowns – or the threat of them – to extract major policy wins over the past decade-plus, Democrats, as the more pro-government party, have been far more reluctant to do so. The lone exception came early in Mr. Trump’s first term, when Democrats triggered a brief shutdown over immigration issues before quickly folding. But this time, it’s unclear which step would better protect government employees and the work they do. The Trump administration is already slashing programs and staff left and right. And this is one of the few moments where Democrats have any real power.
The showdown comes as the Trump administration continues its widespread, and potentially illegal, evisceration of the federal government. Even as Senate Democrats were debating the least terrible path forward, the Department of Education announced it was laying off about half of its workforce – 1,300 employees – the latest in a series of deep government cuts not authorized by Congress. So far, the Trump administration, aided by Mr. Musk’s DOGE team, has laid off tens of thousands of government workers across various agencies, and is signaling even deeper cuts to come.
