Senate Dems emboldened in shutdown strategy after election sweep

Senate Democrats are riding high after a wave of victories on Election Day and view Democratic candidates’ performances as an indicator that their shutdown strategy is working.

As the government shutdown officially entered record-breaking territory in its 36th day, Senate Democrats felt emboldened by the election results, and saw the blowout wins across the country as an indictment against President Donald Trump and Republicans, particularly on the matter of expiring Obamacare premium subsidies.

Still, some Senate Democrats are mulling an off-ramp from the shutdown and considering an offer from Republicans that would guarantee them a vote on the expiring subsidies in exchange for supporting the House-passed continuing resolution (CR).

SENATE DEMOCRATS EYE EXIT FROM RECORD-BREAKING SHUTDOWN AS PRESSURE INTENSIFIES

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has dug in on the party’s position. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

But some warn that caving now for the promise of a vote would be the wrong move.

“If they cave now and go forward with a meaningless vote, I think it will be a horrible policy decision, and I think politically, to the Democrats,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said. “And you know, they’re going to come into the 2026 election. Some of you may have heard the expression, when we fight, we win. You ever hear that? Well, when you cave, you lose.”

Some Republicans fear that the election may have caused Senate Democrats to dig deeper into their position and remain united in their shutdown game plan.

President Donald Trump, during a breakfast at the White House with the Senate GOP Wednesday morning, contended that the “shutdown was a big factor, negative for the Republicans,” on election night.

“I think the Democrats, you know, may feel emboldened by it, but I think that people are going to get past election results fairly quickly and start remembering that they’ve just unilaterally decided to shut down the government,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital. “So I think it could be maybe a weak bump, but at the end of the day, we’re going to get back to the reality that we’ve got to fund the government.”

SCHUMER PUSHES SHUTDOWN INTO RECORD BOOKS AFTER REJECTING GOP BILL A 14TH TIME

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at the No Kings Rally in Washington, Oct. 18, 2025. (Emma Woodhead/Fox News Digital)

Republicans are also not budging from their shutdown strategy as the closure drags on. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., offered Senate Democrats a vote on the expiring subsidies and wants to jump-start the government funding process by tying a small package of spending bills to the CR.

“Can this be over now? Have the American people suffered enough or do the Democrats need more?” Thune said on the Senate floor.

Despite his and the GOP’s offer, and Trump’s offer to meet with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., after the shutdown ended on the expiring subsidies, Senate Democrats do want more.

“Republicans shouldn’t ignore us anymore for their own good and the country’s good,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “So this morning, Leader Jeffries and I once again demanded a meeting with the president. It’s time to sit down and negotiate with Democrats to bring this Republican shutdown to an end.”

SENATE REPUBLICANS PLOT LONGER-TERM FUNDING BILL AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CONTINUES

President Donald Trump speaks during a breakfast with Senate and House Republicans in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Nov. 5, 2025. (Evan Vucci/AP Newsroom)

Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., whose home state elected Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill in a blowout double-digit win over Republican Jack Ciattarelli, contended that Trump “certainly feels weaker.”

“This was a resounding defeat for Donald Trump,” Kim said. “He should have woke up this morning and just immediately said, ‘I — we need to negotiate. We need to find an end to this shutdown.’”

And Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., agreed with Sanders’ outlook that Democrats should dig in and not cave.

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But whether it strengthened Senate Democrats’ hand in trying to get Trump to the negotiating table, he was skeptical.

“If you’re dealing with rational actors, yes, are we dealing with rational actors? I have no idea,” Gallego told Fox News Digital. “This is a man that’s going across the country and redistricting the hell out of the country, and amid this redistricting to help save him from potentially dealing with a Democratic-controlled Congress, and now he’s basically going to assure a Democratic Congress by screwing up the one thing that is entirely under his control, which is making sure these premiums don’t go up.”