The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union published an open letter on Monday calling on Senate Democrats to pass a “clean continuing resolution” and end the government shutdown. The news is a major blow to Democrats and shows that cracks are beginning to emerge in the liberal party’s base of support as the shutdown drags on.
The AFGE represents more than 800,000 federal workers and notably endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. In its letter, AFGE President Everett Kelley called on Congress to “reopen the government immediately under a clean resolution that allows continued debate on larger issues.” Kelley added that members of Congress should “ensure back pay for every single employee who has served or been forced to stay at home” and should “work together on a bipartisan basis to address important policy matters like addressing rising costs.”
Late last month, just before government funding expired, House Republicans passed a continuing resolution to keep the government open at current spending levels – which date back to the Biden administration. Senate Democrats had previously voted for those spending levels no less than 13 times, but have now blocked the continuing resolution 12 times since the government shut down. Senate rules require at least 60 votes to pass most legislation, including funding bills.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is demanding that Republicans agree to roll back major provisions of their One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) passed earlier this year and sign off on a permanent extension of “temporary” COVID-era expanded Obamacare subsidies as a price for reopening the government. This marks a major break from Senate precedent and would effectively amount to nullifying the results of last November’s elections, where Republicans retook control of the Senate.
The expanded Obamacare subsidies would cost a staggering $400 billion over the next decade alone. Democrats’ full list of demands would cost taxpayers more than $1 trillion.
Democrats continue to believe that they hold the edge in the public relations battle. But as the shutdown nears a full calendar month, groups normally friendly to them, like AFGE, are beginning to break. “It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today,” Everett said in his letter. “No half measures, and no gamesmanship. Put every single federal worker back on the job with full back pay — today.”
Tuesday marks 28 days that the government has remained shut down without funding – now the second-longest shutdown in history. The stakes to reopen the government will increase with funding running out for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that provides 42 million Americans in need with assistance purchasing groceries on November 1. Air traffic controllers are also slated to miss their first paycheck this week, potentially wreaking havoc on air travel.
House Speaker Mike Johnson shared a post on Monday explaining how the shutdown also negatively impacts small businesses. A total of $4.5 billion in small business loans have been blocked over the course of the shutdown.
“While Chuck Schumer brags that ‘every day gets better’ for his party politically, every day is getting decidedly harder for small businesses and hard-working Americans across the country,” Johnson said.
Senator Mike Lee of Utah shared a poll on Monday calling for Democrats to end the shutdown. He stated that the “Schumer Shutdown is a hostage crisis” and that “Americans deserve better than this circus.” X users could vote in the poll to determine who is responsible for the shutdown, with options being “Democrats,” “Republicans,” or “The White House Ballroom.” An overwhelming 93 percent of voters in the poll chose Democrats.
Alan Jamison is the pen name of a political writer with extensive experience writing for several notable politicians and news outlets.
And, I’d add, when they do get back, the battle has just begun. The Republicans need to cut the obscene pork the dems have added to buy their votes.
The Dems need to stop the foolishness and get on with the people’s business. Let’s remember, they work for us!
Furthermore, they too should not be paid while the government is shut down.
While most government employees are loyal, habitual Democrats, I’m sure most of them have noticed the effects of illegal immigration and the attacks on their morality via the left’s favored LGBTQ ideology. They can also see what President Trump is accomplishing, though many hate him as much as Nancy Pelosi does. The Doge investigations yielded many federal employees who were grateful for the exposure of waste, fraud and abuse in their departments. The streets of DC are clean and safe again. Time to get back to work.
If you don’t work you don’t eat and if you don’t work you shouldn’t get paid.
If federal workers get a free paid vacation, then there’s no consequence to the democrat party.
If federal employees didn’t get back pay we would never have these shutdowns.
Years ago they told us that Obamacare would run out of money……………well, it has and now Schmuck and the gang are trying to hold the Gov’t hostage for their stupidity. And if we lose in 2028, we’ll have to start alllllll over again after they knock us back for four more years. Hopefully JD steps up!!!!
The democrats are acting as dictators. Not in the interest of what is good for the citizens let stand for the country. They are working on eliminating political opponents forever. They tried through lies, indictments, impeachment and assassinations and yet he still stands. The evil that is coming from the left has been shown to the public. They are showing the Autopen administration of Biden. The deep State run by Obama, Schiff and AOC. The push to make Harris the president. The mandates they ruled with under Biden. The Jan 6 they orchestrated. The Hoaxes perpetrated by Obama and Hillary with the help of the DOJ and FBI. Are the people finally seeing their freedom being destroyed by those on the left? Could it be. Let’s all pray that the majority of the citizenry see the light, we all pray.
Schumer is scared Schiffless that Sandy Cortez is going to primary him. How else to explain a 180 degree change since the first of the year? We have Schumer, Jeffries, Sandy, and Mamdani ALL from NYC! How about us SANE people in flyover country? Why are we forced to bow to the crazies in NYC?
Senators who vote to keep the government shut down, are still receiving their salaries. Those salaries should be redirected to air traffic controllers, and other government workers who are not receiving a salary due to the shut down.
TERM LIMITS!!!
Not one political holdout is gamblimg with their own paycheck Someone else’s is always at stakea
Schumer & company only know how to cause problems. They have no idea how to solve them. Stop all their funding including pay & benefits with no retroactive pay. Fire them and you would see a line from coast to coast for replacements.
Membership is 800 strong and endorsed Harris, let them eat whatever comes to mind.
no backpay for those furloughed. yes to ones actually working
There is a nice seaside villa on the sunny Mediterranean shore waiting for Chuck Schumer.Free air fare too.It’s called The Gaza Strip.
Major thought…do not vote for Dems!!!
Fed up with hypocrisy? Well there’s plenty more where that came from since the Democrat party always blames Republicans for the same thing they do! In CA, they screech that “Trump is trying to steal the elections!!!” —by the redistricting process. The very process the Democrats have perfected to disenfranchise Republican voters in California. I guess that’s what happens when you sacrifice ethics for politics.
Time to rid ourselves of ALL government employee unions. They are little more than part of the Dems money laundering, election cheating and useless, overpaid “workers.” It was a mistake when they were allowed to unionize and time to correct that costly error.
In my opinion, federal employees should not be able to join a union…conflict of interest. I know this is not the topic of this article, but I think this needs to be addressed as well in the future. …I know, probably never going to happen.
The same mostly democrat union that endorsed Harris in 2024. Imagine that! Vote for dems, this is what you get.
The minority party setting demands.
It was quite laughable to the Democrats when the Republicans were the minority party and setting demands.
“”Elections have consequences.””, 0bama himself had uttered to the cheers of his fainting, loyal subjects as well as all others that were forced to endure eight years of Democrat as well as Republican-In-Name-Only (….or what I what I refer to as DECEPTICONS because RINOs who works with their across the aisle counterparts are just as guilty for this mess that we are currently in….) tyranny.
So, after just a month of the DECEPTICONs game of ‘chicken’, the Democrat side of their base blinks first.
The real shame is that the hardcore types like Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries and yes, Mitch McConnell who is still working undoubtedly behind the scenes against President Trump at least until January 2027 or Divine Intervention possibly says otherwise, will never be affected by the very tyranny that they inflict on the rest of us due to the ‘supplemental income’ from other sources that they rely more on than their government salaries.
Let’s stop their income during this Schumer shutdown!!
There is so much corruption in the Democrat party and then you have the Squad who does nothing but show there hate for President Trump that is all the Democrats are doing that is why there is a shutdown in our government just haters in the Dem party do nothing for the citizens in this country but for Illegals.
School is in , these are the politicians you voted in and Slick would say elections have consequences. None of you get back pay and remember this come election day . The first not to get paid are the politicians and freeze their financial benefits they have . Make them suffer like PBS and the abortion institution. Then they will know the pain like everyone else does .
The Democrat politicians do NOT care about the paychecks of their government workers.
Will more Unions join in??
It’s not just Union members that suffer because of the Dems shutting down our government it is all Americans!.
The Dems are holding this country HOSTAGE! Talk about who are the Nazi dictators!
If the poll is the majority’s desire then let’s close the government entirely and see how that comes out!
The elephant in the room is that Congress continued to get paid for not doing their job. Under the previous administration, they wasted taxpayer money like drunken sailors, no disrespect intended towards sailors. And this shut down is just the latest waste of taxpayer money. Now, tax money will go out to all the employees that were sent home, for NOT working, through no fault of their own. The fault only lies with the dems in congress, who have still gotten paid, for NOT doing their job. This can’t be said enough times. Or loudly enough. The lost productivity for the country, for the government, the pain caused by these buffoons needs to be echoing throughout the country. They need to be held accountable come election time. A large number have already acknowledged this by announcing their retirement. That is not enough repercussion for the damage they have done and will do again if they are allowed to play politics like 4-year-olds. They have held the country hostage for a month, so far. They have stolen a months’ worth of productivity out of our economy. This must not be forgotten at election time. Hold the Democrat leaders in Congress responsible, hold the crazy extremists responsible. These people do not represent this countries values. They get wealthy on the backs of taxpayers and then flip us off when they don’t get their way. TERM LIMITS could help correct this injustice.
The democrats want to cause nationwide riots which will probably happen when the EBT money runs out. The democrats will shut down the government in more ways than one.
I have yet to see a list of how many Federal employees and agencies have been cut during this shutdown.
No surrender.
With only 9% of U.S. workers being under organized labor, and most of them either government workers or dependent on government funding paid for by taxpaying Americans, organized labor can’t survive with government funding being unavailable. This should be considered a major red flag that the majority of U.S. workers are paying the high cost of organized labor.
I will never understand why the unions haven’t seen they are more aligned with the Republican party than what used to be the Democratic party, but now is the communist party. Hard working government employees deserve representation from a party that will have their backs. It is a terrible thing to see these employees left high and dry by the Democratic party. The party that is supposed to have their best interest at heart. This is just another reason that the Democratic party does not deserve the unions backing. Fire fighters and law enforcement have realized that the Democratic party of 2025 does not represent them, City workers are watching all of this with great interest also. There is room in the Republican party for these hard working union citizens. Many voted for President Trump and will vote Republican as long as the Democratic party leans so far to the left that no one can recognize what they once stood for. God bless our country, our government, and our leaders that do the right thing.
The objective of the shutdown could be worse than believed. Suppose this went on long enough that millions couldn’t pay their mortgage. Remember 2009? In hard times people rely more on government which is what the they ultimately want. More dependence on government means more power for them. Vote them out!
FIRE CHUCK SCHUMER, MINORITY LEADER AND CUT OFF ALL DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS AND SENATE – LET THEM FEEL THE PAIN THEY ARE CAUSING FOR HARDWORKING AMERICANS. OBVIOUSLY, THEY FORGOT WHO THEY WORK FOR!!!!
Call for three votes per day. Have a lock in until the vote is settled.
Wait, I thought Mike Lee was the other Republican (Paul Rand being the first) to vote with the Democrats and their shutdown?
Trump told speaker Johnson not to meet or negotiate with Democrats, and Johnson is following his order. So this is Trump shutdown and not willing to make a deal.
Trump & speaker Johnson give no sign that they want to negotiate at this time. And Trump is very blatant that he is getting rid of Democrat programs that he does not like & that he will probably fire more Dems than other. Does Trump want to beat his longest shutdown in history of 35 days in his first term. It appears that no lessons were learned from the first shutdown and how it impacted average Americans.