Current Affairs Of Pakistan & World: Democrats learn a shutdown lesson

Democrats learn a shutdown lesson

Apr 03, 2026

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THE CATCH-UP

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks during a news conference after a policy luncheon March 24.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks during a news conference after a policy luncheon March 24. | Mariam Zuhaib/AP

Democrats are itching to land the deal to reopen DHS in the House that mirrors one they pitched well over a month and a half ago. Another record-breaking shutdown later, Democrats say their party is finding their edge, and the potential to electrify their base ahead of a critical midterms season.

But the fight is just getting started — and some Democrats believe there’s a lesson to be learned about this second shutdown go around.

“Democrats can beat Republicans, even from the minority, if we stand strong and hold together,” Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) told Playbook in an interview. “To me, this is a vindication of the stand and fight wing of the Democratic Party.”

The party firmly in the wilderness has shifted over the past year from conventional wisdom that using shutdowns as a political tool was irresponsible or politically toxic — a “politics of idiocy,” as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer once called it. The 119th Congress has seen two record-shattering lapses in government funding that doubled as lanes for Democrats to hone key portions of their resistance to the Trump administration and midterm messaging.

Public perception of who’s to blame, Democrats argue, has also trended in their favor. With Dems locked out of power, multiple polls — including the latest CNN survey earlier this week — show Republicans shouldering more of the impact. The shutdown has divided the GOP over how to proceed, with many House Republicans up in arms over being forced to back the Senate deal that Speaker Mike Johnson lambasted not two weeks ago.

The result has been praise from parts of the Democratic base, with progressive grassroots group MoveOn’s Joel Payne telling Playbook that people have been “pleasantly surprised and encouraged.” “I don't think anyone's taking any victory laps about what's going to end up happening here,” Payne said, but voters are “encouraged and very much happy that Democrats are starting to show a collective degree of fight.”

Democratic lawmakers who spoke with Playbook all said they don’t like or want shutdowns, pointing to the irreversible damage to government workers and systems. But none chose to rule them out as a future tactic.

“Health care was not a top issue in the country, but by Republicans coming for health care and Democrats standing and fighting through appropriations, we made health care a top issue,” Casar, who leads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told Playbook. “Just a few months ago, people said that Democrats were on the back foot on the issue of immigration, but by taking a stand and fighting for ICE reform in this budget process, now Trump's numbers on immigration are way upside down.”

And the push to hold the line is resonating across wings of the party, two shutdowns later. “Democrats want to see us fight, and this was a fight worth having,” Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.), whip for the moderate New Democrat Coalition, told Playbook. “I mean again, sadly, four weeks, no pay. But at the end of the day, what do people want? They wanted us to try to get ICE under control.”

There’s still intraparty grumbling over what comes next. Swing seat Democrats in particular have raised concerns about what happens if these reforms never actually get done. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) told Playbook the party is in “better shape” politically, but the lack of compromise is frustrating. “We just spent so much time pointing fingers,” he said. “I'll vote for this thing because I want to get the government open, but it still doesn't reform ICE.”

Reopening DHS without enforcement funding was only a solution for getting workers paid, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the top Dem appropriator in the House, told Playbook in an interview. “That was for the first conversation, because it's going to take a while to get [reforms], as we have seen, and we shouldn't keep people economically insecure.”

So the bigger fight for Dems lies in the weeks ahead. “There's still part two of this,” Strickland told Playbook. Republican lawmakers in both chambers are looking at three years of potential funding for immigration enforcement via reconciliation, with some saying they won’t vote for the Senate deal until that reconciliation process starts. And the chance for reforms once that kicks off are close to zero. “There’s no way it happens,” one GOP operative told Playbook. RNC spokesperson Delanie Bomar told Playbook “anyone who celebrates [the shutdown] as a success is showing their true colors.”

Once the reconciliation saga is over, Congress will roll right back into appropriations season for FY2027 — with a deadline landing a month before midterm elections. DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), in an interview with Playbook, also declined to rule out a shutdown later this year. “The only way we can get policy across the finish line is if it's bipartisan,” she said, adding that Republicans are “uninterested in doing anything that is bipartisan right now, especially in the House.”

But for now, as the party primes for its biggest fight at the ballot box, multiple Democrats told your author they’re pushing the party to double down. “I've been critical of Senate Democrats failing to fight in the past,” Casar said. “I think that we're all going to learn the right lesson.”

Happy Friday afternoon — and Good Friday to all those observing Easter weekend. This is Ali Bianco and Makayla Gray. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Send us your thoughts at abianco@politico.com and mgray@politico.com.

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5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. WARSH ON THE WAY: Kevin Warsh’s nomination hearing to become chair of the Federal Reserve has been set for April 16, POLITICO’s Daniel Lippman scoops. His confirmation has been a top Treasury priority, and his sherpa team over the past few weeks has been headed by Deputy Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs Derek Theurer — who returned full-time to his role to focus on Warsh’s nomination — alongside Deputy Chief of Staff Samantha Schwab. “Derek will continue his important work here at the Treasury to ensure the speedy confirmation of Kevin Warsh as Chairman of the Federal Reserve, as well as his great work on President Trump’s working families tax cuts,” Secretary Scott Bessent said when asked for comment.

2. IRAN LATEST: The U.S. military appears to have launched a search and rescue mission for two crew members from a fighter jet that was shot down over Iran this morning, with one member already rescued by American forces, per CBS’ Tucker Reals and Lucia Suarez Sang. Trump was briefed on the situation, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CBS.

Fact check: Experts are disputing the U.S. claim that Iran was responsible for the deadly strike in Lamerd, Iran on the first day of the war, BBC’s Merlyn Thomas and colleagues report. “Six experts — who examined footage of the strike and all commented independently — contested the US suggestion that it was an Iranian missile, citing the missile's visual features, the way it exploded, its trajectory and the number of strikes in the area as the basis for their analysis.”

Survey says: A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds 86 percent of Americans are concerned for the lives of U.S. military personnel in Iran — and 56 percent believe the war will have a negative impact on their personal financial situation, Reuters’ Ben Kellerman reports.

Playbook preview: Mick Mulvaney and Steve Ricchetti are on C-SPAN’s “Ceasefire” with Playbook’s Dasha Burns tonight, where they discussed Trump’s address to the nation on the war this week. Mulvaney said he doesn’t think the U.S. can pull back from the region until the Strait of Hormuz is open again. “The two things I struggle with during the speech is that it would be easy — because it’s not. And that it would happen naturally — I don't know what that means,” Mulvaney said. “This kind of erratic explanation and articulation of what we're doing here is really causing support in the country to vaporize,” Ricchetti said. Watch the clip

Related read: “Trump and the Myth of American Oil Independence,” by POLITICO’s Joe Schatz: “Trump is right: The flow of oil from the Persian Gulf to the U.S. is far less than it used to be. But no matter what he says, the industry is keenly aware of how important that oil still is. That’s why CEOs have been pleading with Trump for weeks to end Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait, which remains vital to the global market in which they operate.”

3. TRUMP’S BUDGET BLUEPRINT: The White House this morning officially requested a record $1.5 trillion from Congress for defense spending, while slashing domestic programs, POLITICO’s Jennifer Scholtes and colleagues report. The request comes while Trump continually claims the U.S. is on the verge of hitting its goals with the war against Iran, though the blueprint released today appears to be separate from an expected supplemental funding request to finance the Middle East campaign.

What happens next: Hill Republicans “are starting to embrace the concept of sidelining Democrats to boost Pentagon dollars and immigration enforcement accounts currently unfunded amid the [DHS] shutdown,” our colleagues write. And supersizing defense spending while slashing domestic funding could cost Republicans in the coming midterms if voters blame potential subsequent military and economic consequences on the party.

What Dems will say: “Let me quote the president: ‘We have no money for child care, Medicare, Medicaid,’ that says it all,” DeLauro, the top Dem House appropriator, told Playbook in an interview today. “We’re going to judge what he's doing and take a look at what this budget is about. But on the face of it, it would appear that it is not the least bit sustainable for being able to provide the services that American working families need to try to move forward economically.”

4. THE ECONOMY, STUPID: Trump received a major boost from the March jobs report, which showed companies added 178,000 jobs last month, a higher number than anticipated and a big swing from February, POLITICO’s Victoria Guida writes. Last month’s numbers were “roughly in line with January — a sharp fluctuation that is making it hard to gauge the job market’s health. But the overall positive trend suggests that the economy remained resilient during the first quarter of the year.” The Fed may also be relaxing, with the upward jobs movement allowing policymakers to instead focus on holding interest rates steady, NYT’s Ben Casselman and Colby Smith report.

5. TRAIL MIX: A new WaPo-Schar School poll shows a slim majority (52 percent to 47 percent) supporting Democrats’ redistricting efforts in Virginia that could claw as many as four congressional seats into Democratic hands, WaPo’s Gregory Schneider reports. “But the poll offers warning signs that the outcome could go either way as early voting proceeds ahead of the April 21 referendum. Republicans and opponents of the measure are more enthusiastic about casting ballots than Democrats and supporters.”

Heart of darkness: “How Democrats Are Embracing Dark Money,” by NYT’s Teddy Schleifer: “The New York Times, using campaign finance records, tax filings, internal fund-raising documents and interviews with dozens of Democratic operatives, has pieced together how hundreds of millions of dollars donated mainly by wealthy individuals and corporations are coursing through the progressive ecosystem.”

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TALK OF THE TOWN

FOR YOUR RADAR — Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was taken to a hospital after getting sick last month at a Federalist Society dinner in Philadelphia, CNN’s Joan Biskupic scoops. “In the two weeks since the incident, Alito has attended oral arguments and appeared healthy during the usual give-and-take with lawyers at the lectern.”

RENOVATION RODEO — “The Slow Race to Save the Rayburn Building,” by NOTUS’ Manuela Silva: “This House office building is at risk of ‘catastrophic system failure.’ The repairs may take a lot of time and money.”

HAPPY NATS HOME OPENER — “Battle of the ballparks: Camden Yards vs. Nationals Park,” by WaPo’s Fritz Hahn: “The Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Nationals are separated by less than 40 miles of parkway. Commuter trains run from Washington’s Union Station to Baltimore’s Camden Station, which deposits fans right outside Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The teams maintain a friendly rivalry, facing off in exhibition games as well as home-and-away series during the regular season. But where would you rather watch a ballgame?”

OUT AND ABOUT — Rina Shah and Anastasia Dellaccio celebrated Richard Vague’s new book, “The Banker Who Made America: Thomas Willing and the Rise of the American Financial Aristocracy,” ($34.30) at Rich Berman’s home last night. SPOTTED: Amol Vaidya, Juleanna Glover, Shawn and Nobar Golhar, Michael Petricone, Megan Capiak, Suhail Khan, Andy Rabens, Jessica Lycos, Hideo Amiya, Nicoletta Giordani, Kevin Cirilli and Marcus Goodwin.

MEDIA MOVE — Brianna Tucker is joining HuffPost as a senior breaking news reporter. She previously worked at WaPo.

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