Democrats endanger 'Checkmate' Over DOGE Govt. Shutdowns With… Government Shutdown

Democrats aren’t sending their best.

In response to the Trump administration’s efforts to shut down various government agencies and slash waste, fraud and abuse, Democrats are threatening a government shutdown.

Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ)

On Sunday, Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) suggested that Republicans looking to continue government spending past March 14 are going to withhold support, leaving Speaker Mike Johnson without allies against fiscally conservative Republican lawmakers who have repeatedly voiced strenuous opposition to out-of-control spending.

„Look, if we have to take steps to be able to hold them accountable, use the leverage that we have to force it, I cannot support efforts that will continue this lawlessness that we’re seeing when it comes to this administration’s actions,” Kim said during an appearance on NBC News’s „Meet the Press.”

„And for us to be able to support government funding in that way only for them to turn it around to dismantle the government, that is not something that should be allowed,” Kim continued, adding „This is on them.„

As Jonathan Turley notes, this is like „threatening vegans with a beef ban.”

Just weeks after joining the Senate, Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., is expressing willingness to shut down the government over Trump policies. It is a curious Democratic threat to an Administration that wants less government. It is akin to threatening vegans with a beef ban…

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 10, 2025

According to the Washington Post, Kim is one of several Democratic senators freaking out over the effective shutdown of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) after Elon Musk’s DOGE team showed up at the agency’s headquarters and identified billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse.

Of note, Trump and Musk have made deep cuts and sweeping changes to 15 government agencies, including USAID, the Department of the Treasury, and the Office of Personnel Management.

„I’ve worked through multiple government shutdowns; I would be the last person to want to get to that stage,” said Kim. „But we are at a point where we are basically on the cusp of a constitutional crisis, seeing this administration taking steps that are so clearly illegal. And until we see a change in that behavior, we should not allow and condone that, nor should we assist in that.”

JUST IN: Democrat Sen. Andy Kim says he is ready to SHUT DOWN the federal government over Trump’s recent actions

Don’t threaten us with a good time, Senator! pic.twitter.com/hyJatR3dgn

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 9, 2025

Joining Kim in crying harder was Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), another critic of the 'assault’ on USAID – telling ABC News’s „This Week” that „This is a fundamental corruption. And democracies don’t last forever,” adding „We see this as a crisis of epic proportions. We were watching the billionaires try to steal government from the people. And I think the broad cross-section of the American public, as you’ve seen in the last week, is going to rise up and say, enough.”

Sen. Murphy: “I do think there’s a lot of people out there who didn’t think Donald Trump was going to do some of the most reckless things he said … didn’t think that the conflicted billionaires were going to have access to their personal information.” https://t.co/ZRKwx3KmxO pic.twitter.com/k2xE8IFzdI

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) February 9, 2025

Of course, neither of them weighed in on the actual waste, fraud or abuse found.

Given the shutdown deadline in a little over a month, Republicans – who hold a slim congressional majority, will need 60 votes in the Senate to pass funding deals.

On Thursday, Speaker Johnson blamed Democrats for a failure to reach a top-line number in negotiations, telling reporters that they „seem to be trying to set up some sort of government shutdown,” after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said funding freezes implemented by Trump must be „choked off” if Republicans want any bipartisan support for a government funding bill.

Taking things one step further, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has established a whistleblower complaint portal for federal workers to submit claims of allegedly unlawful activities in their respective agencies.

In a letter sent to public servants and obtained by The Washington Post, Senate Democrats said they are ready to support any whistleblower seeking to share information about “wrongdoing, abuse of power, and threats to public safety.” Democrats emphasized the role of the Whistleblower Protection Act in prohibiting retaliation against federal employees who disclose evidence of possible wrongdoing, and they vowed to investigate the Trump administration’s actions through oversight requests, hearings and inquiries. -WaPo

„As Senate Republicans refuse to fulfill their constitutional duty to provide a check on the Executive Branch, Senate Democrats remain steadfast in our commitment to uncovering the truth,” wrote Democrats. „We are prepared to issue demand letters, preserve public records, conduct public hearings, and pursue legal action where necessary.”