Dems: On Second Thought, Let's Not Go to Shutdownalot. It Is a Silly Place.

Who says you can't teach old dogs new tricks?

Senate Democrats shut down the federal government for two months, and didn't even end up with a T-shirt. Chuck Schumer engineered a 'rebellion' to save face from his monumentally dumb decision to put Donald Trump in charge of all federal operations. All he got from the Schumer Shutdown was a two-month continuing resolution, a promise to hold a vote on an extension of ObamaCare subsidies – which he lost – and the undying enmity of progressive radicals who bullied Schumer into that position in the first place.

Having learned that shutdowns don't do anything, Schumer, his colleagues, and much of the Protection Racket Media tried to spin the skunking as some sort of strategic victory. The victory was so significant, as it turns out, that few if any Senate Democrats want to repeat the strategy when the current CR expires at the end of the month. Punchbowl reports that Democrats still want to  kneecap Trump, but are finally recognizing the limitations of their options:

Democrats are reluctant to embrace their most bare-knuckled tool to prevent President Donald Trump from launching further military operations against Venezuela or other nations.

Instead of threatening to hold up or even block government funding bills, Democrats are opting for a vote on a war powers resolution that, while politically significant, will be largely symbolic.

Lawmakers are staring down a Jan. 30 deadline to fund defense and diplomatic programs or face a partial government shutdown. Some Democrats want to use that must-pass legislation to demand language curtailing future military action against Venezuela or elsewhere.

But those Democrats are decidedly in the minority, with many more — even those most ardently opposed to Trump’s foreign policy moves — fearful that it’ll unravel the already-delicate funding process.

Wait – the Schumer Shutdown was a spectacular success! Democrats and media insisted last month that Trump got blamed for the shutdown, everyone hated him, his re-election plans (heh) were toast, and that the electorate saw Democrats as the heroes. Why wouldn't they use the same tactics again if the Schumer Shutdown turned into such a grand slam?

Here's what the Schumer Shutdown actually accomplished: it forced attention to shift to Trump's leadership and exercise of executive authority. Trump didn't go crazy, he didn't defy courts and the law, and he didn't declare himself a dictator in the model of Caesar or Cincinnatus. He did exactly what Democrat presidents have done to Republican Congresses dumb enough to enable that situation in the past, making his political opponents feel the pain of caving to radical activists without any idea what shutdowns actually mean. In Schumer's case especially, it shredded the conceit that Democrats prioritize governance over tactics.  

Of course, Trump is having an even better executive moment in foreign policy. His bold mission to capture Nicolas Maduro and enforce sanctions in the Caribbean may spark controversy, but the dirty secret of American politics is that voters like presidents who take decisive (and competent) action in response to threats and provocations. Democrats want to compete against that, and the first step is to avoid giving Trump more opportunities to stage demonstrations with their money. 

The second step? Attempting to curtail Trump's range of options in the middle of the Venezuela crisis. Although, to be fair, this is mainly symbolic, like much of what Schumer & Co do these days:

Schumer is right that Democrats only need a handful of Republicans to join them in order to pass Kaine’s war powers resolution, which only requires a simple majority. Prior efforts have come up just short. But even if Kaine’s measure passes, it would largely be a symbolic rebuke.

That’s because even if the House passes the resolution, Trump would veto it, and there wouldn’t be nearly enough votes to reach the two-thirds threshold to override the veto.

It might pass the House, with Thomas Massie sure to support it. It might even pass the Senate, although that is not looking too likely at the moment:

Sen. Collins is still "working through" her vote on the Kaine war powers resolution vote on Venezuela on Thursday

Hard to see it advancing without her vote at this point given Fetterman's potential "no" vote. Last one was 49-51 with Murkowski/Rand supporting on GOP side

— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) January 7, 2026

The upshot, though, is that this is nothing more than a virtue signal on an issue that most voters probably either don't care much about or support Trump's actions so far. The fact that Kaine and Schumer are teeing this up as a standalone bill rather than an amendment to funding bills shows just how badly the shutdown backfired on Democrats in 2025. 

The biggest lesson from the Schumer Shutdown? It's only a model. And a bad one at that. Shhh. 

Editor’s Note: After more than 40 days of screwing Americans, a few Dems have finally caved. The Schumer Shutdown was never about principle—just inflicting pain for political points. They own this.

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