While Americans Starve, Trump Parties: Inside the Republican Attitude and Power towards the 2025 Government Shutdown

Image: Andy Feliciotti

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On 1st October 2025, the US Government began its longest shut down in history. At least 670,000 employees were furloughed, roughly 730,000 were working without pay, and over 40 million Americans (1 in 8) risked losing their food stamps. Yet during this time, President Donald Trump was busy demolishing the East Wing of the Whitehouse for a new $300m ballroom and celebrating Halloween with a lavish party in Florida. Because, with such power, why worry about starvation when you’ve got champagne to pour? Trump’s attitude is what differentiates this shutdown from others. Historically, presidents do not leave Washington D.C during a government shutdown, typically staying in Washington (or at least the US) to coordinate and resolve it. His presence in Washington is needed to sign any legislation to reopen the government. Trump however, in a rather disregarding and apathetic manner, travelled to 6 countries in Asia for various trade and security deals.

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To contrast with his one of his predecessors, President Obama remained in Washington during the government shutdown of 2013, giving speeches and working with the government, leading to his shutdown lasting a fraction of the time as both of President Trump’s. To the average American citizen, it is clear he does not care about the consequences of this shutdown to millions of citizens caught in the crossfire of political disagreement.

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Chuck Schumer, Democratic Minority Leader of the Senate, has criticised Trump’s international affairs and seeming disregard of the government shutdown. During a recent press conference, he blasts Trump with: "Donald Trump, you're not a king … The way this country works, you got to sit down with people you may not agree with, come to an agreement, come to a negotiation” Similarly, appearing on The Weekly Show, former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris criticises Trump’s actions with: “Are you f*****g kidding me? This guy wants to create a ballroom for his rich friends, while completely turning a blind eye to the fact that babies are going to starve when the SNAP benefits just end?” Furthermore, instead of addressing the shutdown directly, Trump and Republicans used this opportunity to blame Democrats, justify mass layoffs of democratic federal workers, and pause funding to democratic projects.

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Russel Vought, Director of the US Office of Management and Budget, announced billions of dollars of funding cuts for blue states on 1st October, in what is seen by many as a bizarre pursuit of political revenge for the shutdown. One of the most prominent cuts has been a freeze of $18BN in infrastructure projects in New York, which would have gone towards projects such as the Second Avenue subway line (designed to add a new north–south line along Manhattan’s East Side) and the Hudson River tunnel project (connecting the city to New Jersey). Furthermore, almost $8 billion has been cut by Vought for 223 clean-energy projects residing in 16 states, all of which voted for Kamala Harris in 2024. Vought himself describes these projects as “Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda”.

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Donald Trump and the Republican party, therefore, fail to realise a government shutdown isn’t an opportunity to eradicate other ideologies for a paternalistic power surge. Democratic Senator for California Adam Schiff responds to funding cuts for his state by connecting the cuts to a lack of democracy: “Our democracy is badly broken when a president can illegally suspend projects for Blue states in order to punish his political enemies. They continue to break the law, and expect us to go along. Hell no.”

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So, what does this mean for the future of blue states in Republican power, particularly New York? During the shutdown, Zohran Mamdani made history by winning the New York City Mayoral election as the first ever Muslim mayor. His election speaks volumes in terms of opposition to the Republican Party –with a 39.9% increase to the previous NYC Mayoral election in 2021.Mamdani’s socialist aims policies are a clear opposite from MAGA views – so much so that Trump and other Republicans have branded him a “communist lunatic”.

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Trump writes further that if Mamdani wins the election, he will send as little federal funds as possible to New York. In a similar bid to Vought’s funding cuts, Mamdani’s election is likely the beginning of a petty power demonstration from Trump, punishing innocent New Yorkers for giving Mamdani power and holding a different political ideology to his own. But, with Mamdani’s election clearly creating a major statement in Trump’s hometown -is Trump’s Republican hold of the USA loosening?

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With the shutdown and recent actions from the Republican party clearly increasing polarization the nation, the 2028 election has the potential to be fuelled by 3 more years of frustration, petty political punishments and elimination of democratic voices. But will Trump try again in 2028? His actions during the shutdown have also sparked rumours about the possibility of him attempting to serve for a third term, despite this being unconstitutional by the 22nd Amendment. In addition to Trump already having ‘Trump 2028’ merch on his official merch website, the demolition of the East Wing for a new ballroom has been seen by many as a symbolic assertion of power, and suggestion of his long-term plans to stay in the White House.

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Although White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has predicted that the construction is “expected to be completed … long before the end of Trump’s term in January 2029.”, critics have questioned the true intentions of such an expensive and extravagant change. Critics such as Jonathan Jarvis, previous White House grounds manager for 8 years, has challenged the aggressive timeline to which the ballroom hopes to be built as “overly optimistic”, emphasising the strict planning times of any modifications to the White House.

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Jon Stewart, American comedian and political commentator, adds “You don’t move into a house, knock down a wing, and build a 90,000 square foot ballroom for the next guy”. So, at what points will Trump and the Republican Party stop? At this point, is the constitution even a barrier? Ultimately, the 43 days without government has exposed a growing Republican power where simple democracy is at risk.

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In an America where the executive branch has such power to politically and economically punish those that embody different ideas, when will the citizens realise that fighting back against that threat is absolutely necessary?