EXCLUSIVE: Democrats Have No Answer For Why They Voted To Shut Government Down

Democratic members of Congress scurried away from questions by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) about why they voted to shut the government down. Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania…

Nicole Silverio·Oct 1, 2025·3 min read

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Democratic members of Congress scurried away from questions by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) about why they voted to shut the government down.

Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and independent Sen. Angus King of Maine were the only members of their caucus to vote in favor of the stopgap funding bill, which would have kept the government open through Nov. 21. In footage exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation, Democratic members of the caucus who voted to shut down the government did not explain their vote.

“Congressman, why did you vote to shut down the government?” a person with the NRCC asked.

“I didn’t,” Virginia Rep. Suhas Subramanyam said.

The roll call vote shows that Subramanyam did, in fact, vote to shut down the government.

WATCH:

Democratic Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost, Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky and several others refused to give a response.

Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland stated that he voted against the stopgap bill because “it’s important to have healthcare.” Ohio Rep. Greg Landsman said that he wants to keep the government open, even though the roll call shows that he voted to shut it down.

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EXCLUSIVE: Democrats Have No Answer For Why They Voted To Shut Government Down — IJR

Democrats demanded that the legislation extend enhanced tax credits from the Affordable Care Act, which are set to expire at the end of 2025. The lack of the extension led to their opposition against keeping the government open.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a joint statement to blame Republicans and President Donald Trump for the shutdown.

“After months of making life harder and more expensive, Donald Trump and Republicans have now shut down the federal government because they do not want to protect the healthcare of the American people … Over the last few days, President Trump’s behavior has become more erratic and unhinged. Instead of negotiating a bipartisan agreement in good faith, he is obsessively posting crazed deepfake videos. The country is in desperate need of an intervention to get out of another Trump shutdown,” the statement states.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that Democrats need to “come to their senses” and work with Republicans to pass the funding bill.

A New York Times/Siena University poll found that 65% of Americans oppose Democrats shutting down the government.

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