Most Democrats were upset, if not outraged, that eight Senate Democrats voted with the Republicans for the Continuing Resolution (CR) that reopened the government. Reopening the government took the pressure off the Republicans to negotiate extending the Obamacare (ACA) subsidies for millions of Americans to the dismay of a great many on the Blue Team.
I believe, however, that there is an impactful silver lining for the Dems which may make that vote significantly better for them than initially appeared.
First, the Continuing Resolution brought the House of Representatives back into session. That eliminated House Speaker Johnson’s excuse of a government shutdown for not swearing in Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva.[1] Once sworn in, Rep. Grijalva became the 218th House member to sign the discharge petition, which was required to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files.[2] That vote will happen this week and compel Republican members to publicly take a stand. They can vote to release the files and hold the wealthy men, possibly including President Trump, accountable for their involvement in the illegal sex trafficking of underage girls. Or they can vote to keep the files closed and shield those powerful men from criminal liability, a vote that will not sit well with most Americans.
Second, ending the shutdown will greatly reduce the suffering and duress that confronted a huge number of Americans. Thousands of federal workers are going back to work and will receive paychecks. More than 40 million Americans will now receive their food assistance under SNAP, though new rules may cause many of them to permanently lose those benefits in the coming months.[3] And, the chaos at airports over the holidays will gradually lessen as more air traffic controllers go back to work, though it going to take some time before air traffic gets back to normal. Still, the suffering and duress would have been worse if the shutdown had continued. And, who knew for how long.
Third and lastly, but perhaps most important, the CR terminates the end of January 2026, less than three months from now. According to one observer, a “clear outcome of the government shutdown fight is that Americans are now far more likely to hold Republicans responsible for their rising health care premiums.”[4] If the Republicans do not negotiate an extension of the ACA subsidies in the next two and a half months and millions of Americans see skyrocketing health insurance premiums or lose their coverage altogether, the GOP will clearly shoulder the blame just as the 2026 mid-term election season begins to heat up. Polls indicate that 48% of Americans blamed Trump and the Republicans as opposed to only 34% the Democrats for the recent shutdown.[5]
Until now, the Republicans have refused to negotiate an extension of the subsidies. The CR, in effect, gave them a reprieve. Failing to agree to help millions of voters with their huge healthcare costs could prove disastrous for the GOP in next year’s elections. In effect, agreeing to reopen the government has strengthened the Democrats’ hand both in the fight to extend the ACA subsidies and in the battle for control of Congress in next year’s elections.
Bruce Berlin, J.D.
A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), and his new memoir, From Camden to Kathmandu. He is the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com. Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/
[1] https://azmirror.com/2025/11/12/with-adelita-grijalva-southern-arizona-constituents-are-finally-represented-after-a-record-delay/
[2] https://www.yahoo.com/news/videos/rep-adelita-grijalva-sworn-record-160956116.html
[3] https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/15/food-stamps-snap-trump-one-big-beautiful-bill-impact-00653447
[4] https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/republicans-are-suddenly-in-a-health-care-bind/ar-AA1QwSPZ
[5] https://navigatorresearch.org/how-americans-views-of-the-shutdown-changed/
Breaking Big Money's Grip on America 