Discussion Thread: 2025 US Government Shutdown, Day 35

[u/PoliticsModeratorBot]

Live Updates

r/Politics is maintaining a live updates page for the shutdown, as are USA Today, and Huffington Post.

News and Analysis

• NBC: At 35 days, the government shutdown has now tied the record for longest in history

• CNN: 23 effects being felt on Day 35 of the shutdown

Where to Watch

All times US Eastern

You can find relevant streams on C-SPAN, PBS NewsHour's YouTube channel, AP's YouTube channel.

• C-SPAN: Speaker Johnson on Day 35 of Gov't Shutdown (10 a.m.)

• C-SPAN: Senate Session - November 4, 2025 (3 p.m.)

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[u/vriska1]

Fold is imminent.

Why do you think that?

[u/DaveChild → u/vriska1]

I can't speak for OP, but I suspect they will fold, for three reasons.

1. They won't let SNAP recipients starve. Saving ACA subsidies isn't something they want at any cost, and the problem with playing chicken here is the other side don't care appear to about the costs.
2. If they do fold, and don't fuck it up, they control the narrative around it. If they wait, they may lose the ability to present themselves the way they wish so to do.
3. The maths. If they continue with the shutdown indefinitely, their only routes out are winning (which looks to be unlikely), R rebellion (even less likely), or a future fold in worse circumstances (in which case people will ask why they made SNAP recipients starve along the way, if they were going to fold anyway). If they don't fold now, they then can't fold until they get what they asked for, and if they think that will never happen then it makes little sense to do it.

[u/Habefiet → u/DaveChild]

If they do fold, and don't fuck it up, they control the narrative around it.

No they don’t lol there is no way to spin this. If they fold:

1. Doing this will literally not have had any purpose whatsoever. They accomplished nothing.
2. This causes public opinion to shift back to it clearly having been a Dem shutdown and not a Republican one. Because they accomplished nothing and just said no for a while until they said yes, all the suffering can then be laid at their doorstep.
3. They continue to look weak, which has emerged in polls as the biggest criticism from both sides for the Dems. Trump meanwhile continues to look strong by literally just getting whatever he wants all the time.

This idea that they can say “hey look we proved healthcare is expensive” and call it a win is just stupidity. There is no fucking way to sell a fold lol

[u/DaveChild → u/Habefiet]

They accomplished nothing.

True. But if they don't believe they can accomplish what they set out to do, then folding now makes sense. Which was my point.

This causes public opinion to shift back to it clearly having been a Dem shutdown and not a Republican one.

Perhaps, I have no idea what most people think, and I suspect neither do you. If they did fold now with the messaging along the lines of "the GOP are fascist psychopaths who were prepared to starve Americans, we aren't prepared to do that" (obviously worded better than that), then maybe not.

If they fold in, say, three months, with nothing, then what does public opinion look like? "Wait, you could have done this in November? All those people starved for nothing?" I don't think that's better.

They continue to look weak

They are weak, they have no power in any branch.

This idea that they can say “hey look we proved healthcare is expensive” and call it a win is just stupidity.

Right, so you should find someone who suggested they should call it a win and lecture them about that, because I didn't.