Democrats Block Government Funding For The 15th Time Yesterday As Americans Bear The Brunt Of Political Gamesmanship
Thursday, November 6, 2025, 3:15 P.M. ET. 4 Minute Read, By Jennifer Hodges, Political Editor: Englebrook Independent News,
WASHINGTON, DC.- On Day 37 of what has now become known nationwide as “The Schumer Shutdown,” Senate Democrats on Wednesday, November 5, once again voted to block a clean continuing resolution that would fund the federal government through November 21, 2025. It marked the fifteenth consecutive time that Democrats have refused to pass the straightforward funding bill advanced by the Republican-led House, a measure that Speaker Mike Johnson described Thursday morning as “a simple, responsible act to keep the lights on for the American people.”
As the impasse drags on, the consequences are intensifying. The Federal Aviation Administration announced it will begin reducing commercial flight operations by 4% at forty major airports nationwide, including Newark Liberty International, John F. Kennedy International, and LaGuardia, starting Friday, November 7. The agency warned that reductions could increase to 10% by next week, potentially grounding thousands of travelers and disrupting an already strained transportation network ahead of the busy holiday season.
Speaker Mike Johnson, speaking at his 10:00 a.m. press briefing on Thursday, emphasized the mounting toll of Democratic obstruction. “This is no longer about policy, this is about politics,” Johnson said. “Democrats are using hardworking Americans as pawns in a reckless power struggle. Our clean continuing resolution funds the government, keeps critical services operating, and protects taxpayers. They’re blocking it because they don’t want to hand President Trump and Republicans a win.”
Johnson added that while Republicans remain open to “reasonable budget discussions,” he will not “negotiate with a gun to the head of the American people.” The Speaker warned that every additional day of delay risks further economic fallout, federal employee furloughs, and instability across key industries, including air travel and defense.
Across the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader John Thune delivered sharp criticism of Senate Democrats’ strategy during his Thursday morning remarks. “What we are witnessing is a leadership crisis in the Democratic Party,” Thune said. “They are being pulled to the extreme left by their loudest voices, not their most responsible ones. Senator Schumer has lost control of his caucus, and Americans are paying the price for his weakness.”
Thune added that Tuesday’s election results have “emboldened the far-left faction” of the Democratic Party, complicating any path toward reopening the government. The wins by progressive candidates, most notably New York City’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, have sent shockwaves through the party, leaving moderates fearful of primary challenges. “Democrats are running scared,” Thune said. “Instead of governing, they’re looking over their shoulders.”
The situation has grown even more tangled as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries added another layer of demands to the negotiations. In addition to calling for billions in new spending, Jeffries is now demanding a full audit of how many workers have been laid off or furloughed due to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts and the ongoing shutdown. Republicans view this as yet another stall tactic to delay a vote on reopening the government. “Every day, Democrats invent a new reason not to act,” one senior GOP aide said Thursday afternoon. “It’s obstruction disguised as oversight.”
Those political maneuvers are unfolding alongside growing unrest within the Democratic ranks. Senator Bernie Sanders, speaking from the Senate floor on Wednesday, publicly rebuked his party’s leadership for refusing to endorse Mayor-elect Mamdani, saying, “The Democratic Party must embrace its progressive future, or the movement will move past it.” Sanders’s remarks underscored the widening ideological gulf between establishment Democrats and their emboldened far-left wing, a divide that has paralyzed any effort to resolve the funding crisis.
Meanwhile, pressure continues to mount from outside Washington. Leaders of the nation’s largest airline unions, including the Air Line Pilots Association and the Association of Flight Attendants, have called on Senate Democrats to “stop playing politics” and “vote to reopen the government immediately.” In a joint statement, they warned that the FAA’s cuts will “endanger jobs, strain flight schedules, and punish passengers who had no say in this manufactured crisis.”
For now, the political stalemate continues with no resolution in sight. Each day the shutdown drags on, more Americans, from federal employees to air travelers to small business owners, are caught in the crossfire of a Democratic Party paralyzed by its own internal divisions and unwilling to act.
Editor’s Note:
All factual information in this report was obtained from official statements by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson during his November 6, 2025 press briefing; remarks from Senate Majority Leader John Thune on November 6, 2025; statements by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on November 6, 2025; FAA announcements released November 6, 2025; Senate floor comments by Senator Bernie Sanders on November 5, 2025; and joint statements from airline labor unions. Additional context was drawn from congressional voting records and federal agency communications. This update was written and edited by Jennifer Hodges, Political Editor: Englebrook Independent News, @2025 All Rights Reserved.
