Who Is to Blame for the Shutdown? Maybe That’s the Wrong Question.

So, who’s to blame for the government shutdown?

That’s the question bouncing around like a dodgeball in a middle school gym. Republicans blame Democrats. Democrats blame Republicans. Everyone seems to have someone else in their crosshairs. But here’s a grown-up truth: both parties hold the keys to restart the government. And either one could do it—today—if they wanted to.

But they don’t. And that’s what we really need to talk about.

The facts are straightforward: Republicans in Congress have introduced multiple stopgap funding measures—short-term bills that would reopen the government, pay our federal employees, and keep essential services running. They’re not asking for policy wins. They’re saying, “Let’s turn the lights back on, and then we can argue over healthcare in a few months.” Seems reasonable, right?

Democrats, however, have blocked those measures—not because they oppose the stopgaps themselves, but because they insist that any spending bill, even a temporary one, must include an extension of healthcare subsidies. Mind you, those subsidies have nothing to do with the government’s core funding bill. They’re a separate policy issue entirely.

And here’s the kicker: the current deadline for those subsidies expiring was set by the Democrats themselves back in 2021. At the time, they could’ve made the subsidies permanent. Or set the deadline further out. But they didn’t. They picked this year—right now—and now they’ve decided that unless they get their extension, the entire federal government stays closed for business.

In the real world, we’d call that a hostage situation.

And while the talking points may frame this as “standing up for affordable healthcare,” the reality on the ground is much grimmer. Millions of Americans are now going without paychecks. Thousands of essential workers are showing up unpaid. Food assistance programs are pausing. Veterans are hitting red tape. And the basic functions of our government—things that have nothing to do with healthcare subsidies—are grinding to a halt.

This isn’t just political strategy. It’s political cruelty dressed up in compassion.

I’m not saying Republicans are blameless. Let’s be honest: both sides have used shutdowns for leverage in the past. But this time around, it’s not about which party caused the shutdown—it’s about which party refuses to end it. And at the moment, it’s the side demanding an unrelated policy win in exchange for reopening the country.

Here’s a fun fact: the American people don’t care which line item caused the shutdown. They care whether their kids get lunch at school. Whether their passport renewal goes through. Whether their next mortgage payment shows up on time. They care about stability.

And right now, the people elected to provide that stability are playing chicken with basic governance.

This isn’t “checks and balances.” It’s just bad management. It’s the political equivalent of refusing to hand over the office keys unless someone agrees to your new vacation policy—even though you’ve got people waiting outside in the cold.

If Congress wants to debate healthcare subsidies, fine. Debate them. But do it with the lights on. Do it while the government is functioning and employees are being paid. Because using working-class Americans as leverage for a policy fight—even a noble-sounding one—is still using people.

And it needs to stop.

So, who’s to blame for the shutdown?

Both sides.

But the better question—the one voters should be asking—is: who’s holding it hostage now, and why? Because the answer to that question reveals whose strategy this really is—and whose priorities have little to do with the people actually paying the price.