During a cabinet meeting at the White House on October 9, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to leverage the ongoing government shutdown to permanently eliminate programs favored by Democrats. The shutdown was a result of an impasse on spending between the two major political parties. Trump is taking full advantage of this moment to highlight the administration’s plans and intentions in these areas.
Trump asserted that his administration would focus solely on cutting “very popular Democrat programs that aren’t popular with Republicans, frankly.” This sad statement of affairs showcases the extreme degree of the partisan divide being shown in Washington. Indeed, the president is already walking a tightrope through a government that can’t seem to find consensus on any budgetary issue.
In his speech, Trump declared, “We’re not cutting the military, we’re not cutting anything else. We’re only cutting Democrat programs,” raising the temperature even higher with Democrats. He blamed them for the current shutdown. He argued, “And they insisted on doing this,” inverting the reality that it was Democrats who were facilitating the deadlock.
The president’s remarks come at a pivotal time. More notable Washington impasses—mostly because most government services are affected—cause the most public outcry and peril, boomeranging back to officials. The ongoing standoff reflects deep-rooted divisions within Congress and raises questions about the future of various social programs that benefit a significant portion of the American population.
As the shutdown wears on, there are potentially deep implications on Trump’s strategy for negotiations beyond this standoff. Retreating to their respective corners, it seems harder than ever for both sides to meet in the middle. All of this has thrown the fate of programs that educate our children, protect our air, and ensure access to affordable healthcare into jeopardy.