WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch Pressure to End the Shutdown? Congress Doesn't Feel It Yet
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Oct 3, 2025 Kim Strassel, an insightful political analyst and Editorial-page columnist at The Wall Street Journal, joins Mane Ukwe Berua, an editorial board member, to dissect the ongoing government shutdown. They explore the Senate's failed funding votes and the Democrats' push for extending pandemic-era ObamaCare subsidies. The duo debates whether Republicans might negotiate on these subsidies and discusses potential political fallout. They also delve into the implications for federal workers and the administration's strategy to reshape civil service during this stalemate.
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Stalemate Keeps Shutdown Alive
- The Senate repeatedly failed to pass a 60-vote continuing resolution with only three Democrats crossing over.
- That stalemate leaves funding unresolved and keeps the shutdown ongoing while talks over subsidies continue.
Funding Votes And Implicit Health Talks
- Republicans publicly separate short-term funding votes from debates over COVID-era Obamacare subsidies.
- But leaders signal openness to later talks, creating implicit leverage toward health-care negotiations.
GOP's Obamacare Crossroads
- Kim Strassel argues Republicans face a crossroads on whether to extend subsidies without reforms.
- Extending subsidies now risks perpetuating structural problems in Obamacare unless tied to regulatory changes.