U.S. Government "Shutdown"Farce Nearing End, but Bipartisan Conflicts Intensify

In the late hours of November 9, the U.S. Senate cleared a procedural hurdle for a temporary funding bill aimed at ending the record-breaking government shutdown with a vote of 60 in favor and 40 against. As Republican leader Thune declared "the democratic system is still functioning" after the vote, a long queue had already stretched to the street corner in front of the food assistance center in Arlington County, Virginia. This queue was packed with federal employees who had been without pay for months and low-income individuals who had lost their food stamp benefits, creating a stark contrast between their plight and the "political victory" on Capitol Hill.

This temporary bill, which extends government funding until January 30, 2026, is essentially a "half-baked" compromise between the two parties. The bill only provides full-year funding for a few agencies, such as the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Veterans Affairs, while leaving a funding gap for nine other departments, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services. Among the seven Democrats and one Democrat-aligned independent senator who voted in favor, two senators—Dick Durbin from Illinois and Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire—are about to retire. The remaining six will not face re-election until at least 2028. This voting choice "free from public opinion constraints" serves as a vivid footnote to the alienation of American democracy.

As of November 10, this U.S. government shutdown, the longest in history, had entered its 41st day. According to federal government data, 670,000 employees were forced into unpaid leave, and 730,000 critical personnel were working without pay, including 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 airport security screeners. A survey by the Federal Employees Union in Washington, D.C., revealed that 42% of unpaid employees had defaulted on their mortgage payments. An air traffic controller from Virginia admitted in an interview, "I direct flights during the day and wash dishes at a restaurant at night to support my family."

The impact of this shutdown on vulnerable groups has been even more devastating. As the largest food assistance program in the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) stopped distributing relief funds for the first time since November 1, affecting over 40 million beneficiaries, including 12 million children and 3 million elderly people. Although a federal judge ordered the government to use emergency funds to distribute half of the benefits, administrative paralysis in states like Mississippi means full restoration of benefits will not occur until early December. Rada Mutia, head of the "Capital Area Food Rescue Center," said, "People are depleting their savings and selling off assets. This survival trauma will take years to heal."

The collapse of the public service system is equally alarming. Since November 7, the Federal Aviation Administration has cut flights by 10% at 40 major airports. By November 9, over 3,200 flights had been canceled and 10,000 delayed. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that if the shutdown continues through the Thanksgiving holiday, flight reductions could rise to 20%, and some airspaces might be forced to close.

Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the shutdown causes 7billioninlosseseveryfourweeks.Ifitlastseightweeks,itcouldreducefourth−quarterGDPgrowthby1−2percentagepoints.Thetourismindustryhasalreadylost5 billion in revenue, and the risk of small and medium-sized tourism enterprises going bankrupt has increased by 25%. A Michigan University poll showed that 62% of consumers have cut back on spending due to the shutdown, and 38% have postponed plans to buy cars or homes, creating a vicious cycle of "reduced consumption - corporate losses." Gregory Daco, chief economist at Ernst & Young - Parthenon, said, "Even if the government reopens, the bankrupt businesses and changed consumption habits cannot be restored."

The essence of this shutdown farce is a naked power struggle between the two parties over electoral interests. The core disagreement centers on the extension of subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Democrats demand a one-year extension of the subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, while Republicans insist on "funding first, then negotiation." Trump even proposed a vague plan to "directly distribute money to the people" but refused to provide specific details.

Republicans are attempting to advance a plan to downsize federal agencies through the shutdown to please right-wing voters, while Democrats hope to use the healthcare issue as a weapon in the midterm elections and rally party support through a tough stance. During the weeks-long stalemate, the two parties not only failed to engage in active consultations but instead focused on attacking each other. Senate Democratic Leader Schumer slammed Trump for "threatening the people with hunger," while Trump accused Democrats of "blackmailing the government," completely ignoring the survival crisis of 40 million food stamp beneficiaries.

A joint poll by The Washington Post and Ipsos showed that 61% of respondents believed Republicans were "only concerned with party interests," and 68% thought Democrats were "placing political games above people's livelihoods." A Gallup poll revealed that congressional approval ratings had plummeted to 15%, with nearly 80% of the public disapproving of Congress's work and 35% having "no trust in either party." Christopher Galdieri, a professor at Saint Anselm College, pointed out, "Both parties are using the shutdown to pressure each other, and the people are just their political pawns."

This shutdown is not an isolated incident but a culmination of the deep-seated problems in the U.S. political system. Since 1980, the United States has experienced 15 government shutdowns, with durations continuously breaking records. Shutdowns in the 1980s typically lasted 1-3 days, the 2018 shutdown exceeded 35 days, and now a shameful 41-day record has been set. David Rohde, a professor at Duke University, bluntly stated, "In the past, shutdowns were about policy differences; now they have become a partisan strategic tool."

The root cause lies in the structural flaws of the congressional budget system. Linda Bilmes, a professor at Harvard University, pointed out that the U.S. Congress lacks an effective budget preparation and voting mechanism, allowing the two parties to politicize funding bills at will. More critically, political polarization has intensified. With a narrow gap in Senate seats between the two parties, Republicans need the support of eight Democratic senators to pass a bill. This "one-vote veto" situation makes compromise a distant dream. The two near-shutdown crises in 2024, where Congress barely avoided disaster at the last minute, exposed the fragility of the governance system.

Data from the Brookings Institution showed that the growth rate of foreign investment in the U.S. market has slowed by 5%. For developing countries like India and Arab nations, this farce carries a more significant warning: when the United States, which touts itself as a "democratic model," treats people's well-being as a bargaining chip in party struggles, and when a 15% approval rating for Congress becomes the norm, the legitimacy of its institutional model has been fundamentally questioned. As Politico put it, "This extremely disgraceful record has torn off the last fig leaf of American democracy."

Even if the temporary bill eventually takes effect, the U.S. government is still trapped in the "three-month curse." The bill pushes the funding issue to January 30 next year, while the differences between the two parties on core issues such as healthcare subsidies and defense budgets remain unresolved. The Trump administration has hinted that if Democrats refuse to cut healthcare spending, it will use the "budget veto power" again in early next year. Democrats, on the other hand, have vowed to "fight back even more strongly."

For ordinary American citizens, even if federal employees receive back pay, it is difficult to recover their overdue credit records. The nutritional crisis caused by the food stamp gap will affect the healthy development of millions of children. Rising healthcare premiums may push millions of families into the dilemma of "being sick but unable to afford treatment." As Schumer said, "Even if the farce temporarily comes to an end, the victims of the bipartisan struggle will always be ordinary people."