'It only gets ugly': Senator predicts GOP will fold on shutdown in 'a couple more days'
U.S. Senator John Neely Kennedy (R-LA) looks on during a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing of the Department of Justice with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 7, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
As the federal government shutdown stretches into its second week, pressure is mounting on Senate Republicans to strike a deal — and one Democratic senator says a turning point is near.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told Semafor in a report published Tuesday he believes it won’t be long before Republicans begin to shift their position.
With key federal workers set to miss paychecks as early as this Friday, Coons predicted GOP senators will soon feel the heat from constituents and push for negotiations to reopen the government.
“A couple more days of this, and you’ll have a group of senators at least trying,” Coons said. “It only gets ugly once people start missing their paychecks.”
The situation could escalate further by mid-month, when military personnel are expected to miss a paycheck — a development that Coons says will amplify public backlash, per the report. Republicans, Coons argued, are not in a strong position.
"I don’t know about their states. I got thousands of people who work at Dover Air Force Base who are going to be p—— and calling me,” he said.
So far, Republicans have been holding the line, insisting Democrats support the House-passed funding bill before any new negotiations begin.
Democrats, meanwhile, are pushing for an agreement that includes an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies. Some senators from both parties say private conversations are happening behind the scenes, though no formal bipartisan group has emerged to broker a deal.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK.) said talks are underway, but no clear coalition has taken shape yet. Still, she believes some kind of plan will be necessary to get Democrats on board.
“For the Democrats to switch their vote — which is what it will take to get it open — you have to have some germ of an idea as to where we go once we get it open,” Murkowski told the outlet.
With leadership from both parties not actively negotiating, rank-and-file senators may soon have to step up. Coons, a veteran of past shutdown fights, seems confident they will — especially once the political cost becomes unavoidable.
