US Shutdown: 'Vacation Politics' and Trump's 'Opportunity in Crisis'

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With midnight deadline missed and Congress deadlocked, Democrats accuse Republicans of sabotaging governance to slash health care

By TRH Global Affairs Desk

NEW DELHI, October 1, 2025 — The US government is once again on the edge of collapse—not because lawmakers can’t be found, but because one side refuses to govern. With the clock striking midnight, funding measures failed in both chambers, putting America on track for another shutdown.

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it bluntly on X: “The government shuts down tonight—but House Republicans are on vacation. Democrats are in Washington, ready to keep government open and lower health care costs. If Republicans force a shutdown, it’s on them.”

Her accusation lands amid a bitter standoff. US President Trump has openly embraced the idea of a shutdown, declaring that “a lot of good can come down from shutdowns” and threatening to use the crisis to make “irreversible” cuts to the federal workforce. For Democrats, that statement strips away the veneer of “fiscal discipline” and reveals the GOP strategy for what it is: manufactured chaos as a path to dismantle government.

Critics note that this is hardly new. As political commentator Candidly Tiff reminded, the last two shutdowns—under Trump in 2018—lasted 3 days and 35 days respectively, both with Republicans controlling the House and Senate. “Republicans do not know how to govern,” she wrote, “yet you keep electing them. Makes no sense.”

This time, the stakes are just as high. Bernie Sanders warned that Republicans’ brinkmanship could “throw 15 million off health care and raise premiums by 75%.” Meanwhile, the White House has leaned into blame-shifting, blasting “DEMOCRAT SHUTDOWN LOADING” in all caps while simultaneously confirming preparations for furloughs and closures across federal agencies.

Some Republicans, sensing public backlash, have tried to posture as reformers. Congressman Ralph Norman filed a bill to strip lawmakers of pay during shutdowns—no backpay included. But symbolic gestures do little to soften the reality that everyday Americans, not members of Congress, will bear the brunt. Federal workers will miss paychecks, air travel could slow to a crawl, and critical services from food assistance to small business loans will grind to a halt.

Trump’s allies insist Democrats are to blame. Democrats counter that they’ve stayed in Washington, willing to pass clean funding bills, while Republicans split time between political theatre and vacation retreats.

The New York Times reported duelling resolutions failed in the final hours, leaving both parties trading accusations.

But history offers a clear pattern: Republicans have repeatedly weaponized shutdowns to advance ideological goals. What Pelosi calls “vacation politics” is, in reality, a deliberate strategy to undermine confidence in government, only to propose gutting it further.

Shutdowns aren’t fiscal tools—they’re political hostage-taking. And with Trump viewing them as a chance to cement permanent cuts, the American people are left staring at a dangerous truth: dysfunction is no accident. It’s the point.