Shutdowns are usually political poison. But this time, Democratic leaders say they have little choice.  

Washington is now a little over a month away from yet another funding deadline.  

Unless Congress passes a temporary spending bill to keep the lights on, the government will shut down on October 1st.   

Shutdowns are almost always unpopular. They disrupt services, hurt the economy, and usually backfire politically. 

But now, Democratic leaders are openly warning that they may let a shutdown happen. And Republicans aren’t doing much to change their minds.  

What do Democrats hope to gain from a shutdown? These are the forces at play:  

Pushback Against Rescissions 

Earlier this summer, Congressional Republicans passed a recissions package, a bill that clawed back $9 billion in federal funding, primarily focused on foreign aid and NPR and PBS.  

And the Trump administration suggested they want a second recissions vote soon to take back even more funding.  

Much like the Senate’s reconciliation process – which Republicans used to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill – a recissions bill isn’t subject to the filibuster. It just takes a simple majority to pass.  

But the money that the Trump administration rescinded was originally passed by Congress’s annual appropriations process, which takes 60 votes from Republicans and Democrats.  

So Senate Democrats are worried about another bait-and-switch. Why put in all the effort to negotiate a spending bill if the White House is just going to renege on the deal?

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned as much back in July when Republicans were considering the recissions vote: “It is absurd to expect Democrats to play along with funding the government if Republicans are just going to renege on a bipartisan agreement by concocting rescissions packages behind closed doors.”  

Pressure From the Left 

Another reason Democratic leaders are signaling a fight is because of the pushback they received during the last funding deadline. 

Back in March, a few Congressional Democrats – including No Labels National Leader Rep. Jared Golden – did the responsible thing and voted for a spending bill to avoid a costly shutdown.  

The left hated it.  

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Democrats voting for the bill was “dangerous and it is reckless.” Her fellow progressive Rep. Ilhan Omar said she was “disgusted” by the vote. 

And the base backed them up. A majority of Democratic voters polled by Morning Consult supported a shutdown, including two-thirds of those who had an opinion on the topic (20% said they didn’t know or didn’t have an opinion).  

Seats at the Table 

Republicans aren’t making the situation any better. Russ Vought, director of President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), recently said “The appropriations process has to be less bipartisan.”  

“I think [it] will lead to better results, by having the appropriations process be a little bit partisan,” Vought continued.  

Democratic leaders viewed this as a blunt admission that Republicans want to push them out of the process entirely. An extreme tactic like shutting down the government might force the Trump administration to let them back into the negotiations. 

The Political Math  

Republicans can’t pass a funding bill without at least seven Democratic votes in the Senate. That gives Leader Schumer and his caucus leverage, and explains why Democrats are letting shutdown talk hang in the air.