Should Democrats shut it down?

民主党人应该关闭它吗?

Today, Explained

2025-09-16

25 分钟
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Democrats are debating whether a government shutdown is a way to push back on Trump’s authoritarian impulses or a bad idea made worse by the killing of Charlie Kirk. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan and Danielle Hewitt with help from Avishay Artsy, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd and Adriene Lilly, and hosted by Noel King. Young men carrying a cardboard that says ''The Democrats Killed Charlie Kirk'' in Orem, Utah, near where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was killed. Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images. Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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  • In just a few weeks, the federal government is going to run out of money.

  • And per the filibuster, unless seven Democrats vote with Republicans, the government will shut down.

  • Now, many Democrats don't want to do anything to aid President Trump's agenda,

  • and some have said maybe the Dems should just shut it down.

  • Don't make demands, don't ask for concessions, just refuse to play ball.

  • But then, Charlie Kirk was killed, and all of a sudden this position became much higher stakes.

  • Because if the Democrats force a shutdown,

  • they open themselves up to Republicans deciding to end the filibuster.

  • And without the filibuster, Republicans can do whatever they want.

  • At this very moment,

  • for Democrats to stoke a confrontation that could very well end with one of the last remaining guardrails on Trump's power in Congress being demolished,

  • seems very short-sighted.

  • Coming up on Today Explained from Vox, the case for treading very carefully.

  • Entertainment poor with Prime Video.

  • In Mission Impossible, the final reckoning, steht Tom Cruise vor seiner bisher größten Aufgabe.

  • Zum Kaufen!

  • You have to trust me one last time.

  • This is Today Explained.

  • I'm Andrew Prokopp, senior correspondent, Vox.

  • So you've been writing about what the Democrats should do next.