The Washington Post’s editorial board is worried about how Democrats might fare in the battle over the Schumer Shutdown, and they have every reason to be.
The editorial board published a piece on Wednesday describing how Democratic leaders rejected a short-term deal to avoid a shutdown after pressure from the progressive wing of the party. When Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) floated the idea of a seven-to-ten-day extension, Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) responded, “Hell no.”
Other leftists in Congress reacted just as strongly and exerted enough pressure to compel Schumer to drop the idea and dig in for a prolonged battle against Republican lawmakers and President Donald Trump.
However, the editorial board cautioned that Democrats may have underestimated their political leverage. “Left-wing Democrats, like the Freedom Caucus before them, enter this shutdown in a position of weakness.”
The reason for the editorial board’s concern does not appear to be related to public opinion. A recent Washington Post poll shows that 47 percent of respondents blame Trump and Republicans for the shutdown while 30 percent point the finger at Democrats.
Instead, the editorial board notes that the government shutdown actually gives the Trump administration more of a reason to continue mass firings and to possibly shut down federal agencies that it deems unnecessary. It notes that Trump recently said, “We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible.”
The piece notes that “the most likely outcome is that Democrats will come to regret having walked into a trap.”
The editorial board is absolutely correct in its assessment of the situation.
Last week, the White House warned that if Congress did not avoid a shutdown, it would begin laying off government workers. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a memo instructing other agencies to prepare for “Reduction in Force” initiatives.
On Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters to expect “thousands” of layoffs if the Schumer Shutdown continues.
“These discussions and these conversations, these meetings would not be happening if the Democrats had voted to keep the government open,” she said.
Leavitt further stated that Democrats are keeping the government closed because they “want to give taxpayer-funded health care benefits to illegal aliens, which is something that American people resoundingly rejected ahead of the election last year.”
🚨: This was the plan all along.
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) October 2, 2025
“How many federal workers do you plan to fire during the shutdown?”
KAROLINE LEAVITT: “It’s likely going to be in the thousands.”
Russ Vought is already drafting the lists.
Make no mistake:
This isn’t a budget fight, it’s a purge.
A… pic.twitter.com/k5ifl90hY0
On the campaign trail, Trump promised to streamline government operations while thinning out the herd, so to speak. After taking office, he began a series of layoffs. Democrats have sought to use the court system to block these moves. But the reality is that this administration will only continue to jettison unnecessary employees.
But it might become even worse for Democrats if the president starts targeting federal agencies he deems unnecessary as well. Democrats want the federal government to be as big in size and scope as possible, which is why there is so much wailing and gnashing of teeth coming from the left. If the shutdown continues, there won’t be much they can do to stop Trump from chipping away at this bloated monstrosity of a government.
So yes, Democrats have every reason to be concerned. But those who want less government might have reasons to rejoice. Perhaps we should send Sen. Schumer a fruit basket with a thank-you card for making all of this possible. He just might earn it.
