How Trump Changed Republicans’ Shutdown Game
16th October 2025
on Wednesday. While Democrats are clinging to their $1.5 trillion demands—and Republicans, for once, are refusing to capitulate—there has been a palpable shift in the government shutdown state of play in favor of Republicans. This week, Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., joins “The Signal Sitdown” to discuss the evolving dynamics of shutdown politics and how Trump is leading the GOP to a win not seen in decades.
“Historically, it should be a surprise” that Democrats have opted to shut down the government, Haridopolos told The Daily Signal. “The Democrats historically have always got along with a clean [continuing resolution],” he added. That’s especially the case in recent history, as Democrats have voted upward of a dozen times for a nearly identical continuing resolution that kept the government open and running on spending levels set during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
To add insult to injury, the continuing resolution that would last through Nov. 21 was negotiated by Republican and Democrat appropriators. “We negotiated this ahead of time,” Haridopolos told The Daily Signal. “[House Appropriations Chairman] Tom Cole sat down, of course, with the House appropriators and Democrat appropriators, and said, ‘We’re going to have a clean [continuing resolution], what else do you need? We want to do it till January.’”
Democrats, however, wanted the continuing resolution to expire in November. “We acquiesced and said, ‘OK, fine, November 21,’” Haridopolos continued. “We negotiated. So, this drama about ‘They never had a seat at the table’ is wrong.”
Democrats went on to reject the continuing resolution because, in Haridopolos’ telling, “the modern Democrat Party is clearly being held hostage by the more left-wing, if not super left-wing, part of their party.”