Senate Republicans are becoming increasingly intransigent in their refusal to work with Democrats, despite the implications of a federal government shutdown set to begin on October 1.
In a Tuesday article, the Washington Post's Paul Kane reported that the Senate's previous reputation as a place where last-minute deals are made in the sake of governing has effectively eroded. He noted that in previous government funding standoffs, a so-called "gang" of Senate Democrats and Republicans were known for collaborating to ensure both sides were accommodated.
However, Kane wrote that the latest shutdown talks have only showed that Republicans have little to gain politically from making deals with their Democratic counterparts, with many from largely safe states and reelection battles several years away. And in the three most competitive races ahead of the 2026 midterms — Georgia, Maine and Ohio – those states' incumbents are firmly in lockstep with their respective parties.
Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), who was appointed to fill Vice President JD Vance's seat after the 2024 election, has accused his Democratic colleagues of shutting down the government to fund "taxpayer-funded health care for illegal aliens." Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) has countered that Democrats simply want to prevent "massive increases to Georgians’ health insurance premiums next year," as Republicans are refusing to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies in the current funding bill.
And while Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has had a reputation as one of the Senate's top dealmakers, a "talking stick" she used to broker shutdown negotiations in 2018 (in which the person holding the stick is the only one who gets to talk while all others have to listen) is now in her closet, sitting unused. Collins said that unlike the 2020 pandemic relief talks, a 2021 extension of benefits and and 2022 gun violence legislation, both sides seem uninterested in compromise. She pointed the finger at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), saying he didn't want a repeat of shutdown talks earlier this year in which he voted for the Republican legislation without getting any concessions in return.
"Chuck Schumer got very burned when in March he agreed to a continuing resolution," Collins said, referring to legislation keeping government agencies funded at current levels. "He doesn’t want to go through that again."
Earlier this week, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had called for his colleagues to "put together a working group" to "find a solution that we can all live with," and suggested Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) be a part of the group. But notably, Graham personally declined playing the role of peacemaker.
"I’m into blowing up stuff, they can fix it," he told the Post.
Click here to read the Post's report in its entirety (subscription required).