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The Washington Post editorial board criticized Senate Democrats on Wednesday for holding the government “hostage” for a month in hopes of extending costly Obamacare subsidies and urged them to reopen the government by voting for a clean funding bill.
“The right answer is to reopen the government with a clean funding bill, ideally for a full year, to get food stamps flowing and federal workers back in the office, and then have a debate about ACA subsidies,” the Post editorial said. “Democrats openly acknowledge that they refuse to do this because it would mean giving up their leverage. If they persist, it could mean families start to go hungry.”
Over the weekend, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) warned in a memo that because of the ongoing shutdown and lack of appropriations, funding for food stamps — officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — would run out by Nov. 1.
FEDERAL WORKERS BRACE FOR MISSED PAYCHECK AS SHUTDOWN ENTERS 5TH WEEK
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Mike Johnson are at odds over the government shutdown. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters; Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
Despite having an emergency contingency fund of about $5 billion, the USDA said the money was not “legally available.”
The Post editorial said one reason the government shutdown has dragged on for nearly a month is that “most Americans have felt no discernible impact on their daily life,” but warned, “That’s starting to change.”
“This pain point, combined with three other dynamics, should help hasten an end to the shutdown as early as next week by making Democrats blink,” the editorial board wrote.
In addition to SNAP benefits expiring, another factor the Post editorial said could speed the end of the shutdown is the start of the open enrollment period for purchasing healthcare, which begins Saturday.
“Many people will experience sticker shock when they see how much their premiums are about to go up. Democrats will be able to claim they got their point across about the need to rescue Obamacare by extending subsidies that are set to expire,” the outlet reported.
WASHINGTON POST WARNS DEMOCRATS MAY HAVE WALKED INTO TRUMP ‘TRAP’ OVER GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Oct. 16, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
Another catalyst, according to the Post editorial, is that Democrats are “favored to win most” of next Tuesday’s off-year elections — with possible victories in New Jersey and Virginia’s gubernatorial races, as well as the New York City mayoral race, potentially helping party leaders save face by framing them as a public rebuke of President Donald Trump.
“Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are both New Yorkers who fear the Mamdani wing of the party,” the outlet asserted. “Schumer has allowed the shutdown to drag on because he’s worried about fending off a primary challenger in 2028, and he’s still smarting from blowback he got from angry liberals after he agreed to fund the government this spring.”
The Post also noted that federal public employee unions are “losing patience” with the Democratic Party, citing a recent statement from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents over 800,000 federal workers. The union said the shutdown is harming its members and called for swift action to end it.
“It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today. No half measures, and no gamesmanship. Put every single federal worker back on the job with full back pay — today,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement Monday.
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The government shutdown is expected to cost taxpayers $400 million a day to pay furloughed federal employees, according to Congressional Budget Office data. (Mehmet Eser/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Post urged lawmakers to “save the debate for another day” on whether too many people qualify for SNAP benefits, and instead focus on keeping the government open to support their constituents.
“Keeping the government open should be separated from policy disputes about how to spend taxpayer money,” the outlet wrote. “It is wrong that Democrats have held the government hostage for a month in hopes of extending costly Obamacare subsidies, just as it was for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to shut down the government in 2013 for 16 days in a bid to defund the Affordable Care Act altogether.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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Fox News’ Alex Miller & Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
