Trump Claims ‘Very Big Victory’ as Shutdown Vote Nears
Washington: President Donald Trump declared victory Tuesday after his efforts to end the longest U.S. government shutdown went to a final vote and rival Democrats ripped themselves apart over the deal.
The House of Representatives is set to vote Wednesday on a spending bill that would resolve a six-week impasse after eight Democrats broke ground by siding with Trump’s Republicans in the Senate on Monday.
During his Veterans Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery, Trump paused to congratulate Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
When Trump saw Johnson in the audience, he said, “Congratulations to you and John and everyone on a very big victory.”
“We are opening our country; it should never have been closed down,” Trump added, upending US presidential tradition by using a ceremonial event to score political points.
Trump later said he expected the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to approve the bill that would fund the government through January. “Only people who hate our country would want the country not to open up,” he told ESPN.
‘Serious calculations’
Top Democrats have vowed to oppose the government-funding bill, but it is likely to pass the House because it only needs a simple majority, which Republicans narrowly have.
Trump had put pressure on Democrats from the beginning by letting the shutdown be as punitive as possible and refusing to negotiate on their health insurance claims.
One million federal workers went unpaid, food benefits for low-income Americans were threatened, and air travelers faced thousands of cancellations and delays ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Tuesday that the chaos could worsen by the end of the week if the closure continues and air traffic controllers are not paid.
“There will be airlines making serious calculations about whether they’re going to continue flying,” Duffy told reporters at Chicago O’Hare Airport.
Polls have shown that voters increasingly blame Trump’s party even as the shutdown passes its 40th day.
But on Monday, without getting the concessions they wanted, it was Democrats who conceded and gave Republicans the extra votes they needed under Senate rules.
democrat rift
The deal has divided Democrats, with many senior figures saying they should push for an extension of health insurance subsidies at the heart of the shutdown battle.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, widely seen as the Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, made a “pathetic” post on X.
Despite vocally opposing the bill and voting against it, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer faced calls from some lawmakers to resign for failing to back his senators into a corner.
For Democrats, the hesitation was particularly frustrating just days after their election victory, which led Trump to backtrack for the first time since his return to the White House.
Democrats’ victories in New York City, New Jersey and Virginia highlighted the issue of affordability, which has been a weak point for billionaire Trump and Republicans, especially ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
But as Senate Republicans promise Democrats a vote on health insurance, millions of Americans are set to see “Obamacare” costs double if subsidies aren’t extended.
The health issue threatens to cause a rift in Trump’s “Make America Great Again” coalition.
On Monday, Trump said he had “lost his way” after his onetime ally Marjorie Taylor Greene made critical comments, including that the lawmaker was “disgusted” by the doubling of premiums for her own adult children.
