A super PAC closely aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is reportedly urging Democrats to hold firm in the government shutdown fight, arguing that the party is winning the political messaging battle, according to a memo obtained by Axios.
The memo from Senate Majority PAC (SMP), one of the top groups backing Senate Democrats, warned that it would be a “mistake to take the pressure off Republicans,” according to Axios, and that Democrats’ stance on protecting affordable health care is winning with voters. The report comes as the government enters its seventh day of a shutdown, already the fourth longest in the country’s history, with government programs and federal employees feeling the impact as benefits and pay lapse.
The internal guidance framed the shutdown as a political opportunity to define the 2026 midterms around health care costs and inflation, issues Democrats believe favor them, according to Axios. “Don’t flinch,” the memo instructed Democrats.
Polling commissioned by SMP reportedly found that 52% of likely 2026 voters blame President Trump and congressional Republicans for the shutdown, while 40% blame Democrats, according to Axios. 62% of respondents said preventing major health insurance premium hikes is more important than ending the shutdown quickly.
Other polling also found that a hefty 78% of Americans support extending the ACA’s enhanced tax credits, comprised of 92% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans.
The Senate Majority PAC did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
SMP President JB Poersch wrote that the “fight over health care priorities is a fight worth having,” and said voters in the political center are shifting toward Democrats. The memo reportedly urged the party not to accept GOP promises to negotiate only after the government is reopened and to remain unified behind its messaging.
“By staying unified and holding firm, Democrats are reinforcing a winning contrast,” Poersch said in the memo. “Democrats fighting for affordable health care and economic security as Republicans are pushing policies that defend chaos, increase prices, and take away health care.”
SMP spokesperson Lauren French echoed that framing, telling Axios that “Donald Trump and Senate Republicans are holding the government hostage instead of protecting families from skyrocketing health care costs.”
President Trump, meanwhile, threatened today the permanent removal of some federal employees, “in four or five days,” through the power of Russ Vought’s Office of Management and Budget should the government continue to remain shut down.
“If this keeps going on, it’ll be substantial, and a lot of those jobs will never come back,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. “You’re going to have a lot closer to a balanced budget.”
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