Government Shutdown Overview

Government Shutdown Overview

The Politics of Performance 

Based on analysis by Phillip Joyce, University of Maryland School of Public Policy of C-Span Washington’s Journal

Democrats want to extend the Affordable Care Act  premium subsidies. These subsidies were expanded under the American Rescue Plan and were extended through 2025 by the Inflation Reduction Act). The Republicans are opposing another extension without spending offset finances., They argue that  the subsidies inflate federal costs and distort the insurance market. Subsidies are federal payments that reduce the cost of health insurance for people who buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces. 

Prior to the shutdown,Democrats made the extension a non-negotiable ultimatum by tying it to the continuing resolution (CR). The continuing resolution is a short-term bill that keeps the government open. However, Republicans refused to yield to Democratic resolutions unless that provision was removed.Result: a shutdown.

During the shutdown, the administration reallocated funds from other accounts to pay military personnel. This overreaching action sidestepped Congress’s explicit control over spending.His overreach  touches on Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 of the Constitution: “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.”

According to Federalist No. 58, this “power over the purse” is Congress’s greatest weapon for ensuring accountability. As Madison wrote:

This power over the purse may, in fact, be regarded as the most complete and effectual weapon with which any constitution can arm the immediate representatives of the people, for obtaining a redress of every grievance, and for carrying into effect every just and salutary measure. But will not the House of Representatives be as much interested as the Senate in maintaining the government in its proper functions, and will they not therefore be unwilling to stake its existence or its reputation on the pliancy of the Senate? 

By diverting funds without a new appropriation, the Executive Branch effectively circumvented Congress, raising separation-of-powers concerns. Especially so as President Trump did not declare paying the troops a national emergency. 

So the Trump administration has once again gone around and done some subverting of constitutional law and practices, only again twisting the legitimate power they have further showing that while we have a constitutional framework for which to run this country by if the Executive Office is led with a certain charisma, authority, and business savvy framework the founding foundation for which we stand begins to be an imaginary boundary and not a legitimate statue. 

In 2019 President Trump declared a national emergency to repurpose Pentagon funds for the border wall after Congress refused to fund it.

In 2014 President Obama authorized ACA cost-sharing reimbursements without appropriation — ruled unconstitutional in House v. Burwell (2016).

Both cases show how presidents from either side of the aisle have expanded executive power at the expense of Congress’s fiscal authority.

Agencies like the Department of War  continue “essential functions,” but pay can be delayed without special authorization. 

The President’s temporary emergency authority under the National Emergencies Act allows quick responses to crises, but it must be reported to Congress and published in the Federal Register. Using it for fiscal maneuvering, however, blurs constitutional limits.

President Trump also failed to submit a full FY2025 budget by the statutory February 1 deadline, giving Congress less time. October is the last major review window, reflecting broader fiscal mismanagement.

The federal fiscal year starts October 1, so the shutdown’s timing is deliberate:

• Democrats aim to secure subsidy renewal before it expires January 1, 2026.

• October–December 2025 is the final 90-day legislative window before election-year politics dominate.

Therefore, a three-month negotiation window is typical, as each chamber must markup, score, and reconcile funding bills through the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

When one side adds a major policy rider such as the ACA subsidy extension, the opposer responds with a “strip it or shut it down” posture.

It’s a structural clash between:

• Democrats: Seeking to cement long-term welfare protections.

• Republicans: Seeking to uphold fiscal restraint on non-American citizens

Both parties, however, have tolerated executive overreach when politically convenient, contributing to the erosion of legislative power over time.