Democratic Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy said Thursday his party’s “brand” could undergo “substantial damage” if Democrats were to cave and reopen the federal government following their overwhelming election victories Tuesday night.
“There will be some pretty substantial damage done to a Democratic brand that has been rehabilitated, if on the heels of an election in which the people told us to keep fighting, we immediately stop fighting,” Murphy told Punchbowl News on Thursday morning. “We’re going to start operating on an increasingly short calendar. The 2026 election is just 12 months away. And if we surrender without having gotten anything, and we cause a lot of folks in this country who had started to believe in the Democratic Party to retreat again, I worry that it will be hard to sort of get them back up off the mat in time for next fall’s election cycle.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Thune Warns Democrats Against Seizing On Election Results To Keep Shutdown Going)
Murphy alluded to Democratic victories in California, Virginia, New Jersey and New York, and suggested voters’ support for his party also validates Democrats’ shutdown strategy. The senator’s comments come as moderate Democrats continue shutdown talks, and millions of Americans feel the impacts of the frozen government reach their wallets, kitchens and airports.
Republicans’ latest shutdown offer includes advancing a package of three full year spending bills and a willingness to discuss the rehiring of federal workers that were laid off during the shutdown. It reportedly does not address the expiring Obamacare subsidies, according to Politico.
The ongoing negotiations have caused some Democratic lawmakers to shun the idea of reopening the government without securing an extension of the enhanced Obamacare subsidies that both the House Speaker Mike Johnson and President Donald Trump agree to.
Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, told reporters Wednesday it would be “devastating” to the party if Democrats caved on the heels of the election and reopened the government for a “meaningless” subsidy extension vote.
“I think all over this country people are saying, ‘Please Democrats, you haven’t been strong in the past. Stand tall now, protect us,’” Sanders told reporters Wednesday. “The Democrats now are winning because they’re standing with working people. So, to answer your question, if they cave now and go forward with a meaningless vote, I think it will be a horrible policy decision, and I think politically, it will be devastating to Democrats.”
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 5: Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks to reporters during a news conference on November 5, 2025 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by Tom Brenner/Getty Images)
Others in the party, however, don’t see a connection between the election and the shutdown, and rather view the election as a wake up call for lawmakers to focus on the economy and affordability.
Democratic Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks told the Daily Caller News Foundation “the two have nothing to do with each other.”
“We’ve not seen the cost of groceries come down and I think the American people want us focused on them and their kitchen table issues,” Alsobrooks said Wednesday. “I think whether we have this shutdown or not, we have to address the cost of healthcare and the cost of affordability for America.”
Still, the shutdown and its repercussions ensue.
The Department of Transportation on Thursday announced reductions in flight schedules across 40 airports nationwide on Friday if the shutdown ensues, and air traffic controllers are missing their second paycheck this week as they turn to second jobs — such as delivering food for DoorDash or driving for Uber — in order to make ends meet.
The Trump administration has already moved to use tariff revenue to cover lapsed funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and has recently moved to provide half of the funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will need for the month of November.
The shutdown is also affecting Americans’ home energy bills. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program is set to run out of funding at the end of the week, crippling a major safety net which helps households manage energy costs.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told the DCNF Wednesday that “nobody wins in a shutdown” and it would be a mistake for Democrats to prolong it.
“Continuing a government shutdown just because they had some good election outcomes seems like a really bad rationale to extend what is already the longest shutdown in history,” Thune said during a sit-down interview in his leadership office. “We can talk about politically who’s getting blamed, who isn’t getting blamed, but in the end nobody wins, and least of all the American people.”
Murphy’s office did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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