GOP Leaders Slam 'Unreasonable' Democrat Demands as Shutdown Looms

At the heart of the dispute lies a fundamental disagreement about presidential authority and spending controls. Democrats are pushing for guarantees that President Donald Trump's administration will implement funding as Congress intended — a response to recent controversial moves to slash federal programs and workforce.

"Democrats are placing completely unreasonable conditions on the negotiations. They want us to limit the scope of executive authority. They want us to tie the hands of the president," House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters, reflecting the Republican resistance to such constraints.

The timeline is particularly tight — lawmakers have just over 10 days left in session before funding runs dry. Republicans are considering a continuing resolution (CR) that would extend current funding levels through September, a move Trump himself endorsed on Truth Social: "We are working very hard with the House and Senate to pass a clean, temporary government funding Bill ("CR") to the end of September. Let's get it done!"

But Democrats, whose votes are essential for passing any funding measure, are digging in their heels. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. — key Democratic negotiators — issued a stark warning about Republicans "walking away from bipartisan negotiations to fund the government — and raising the risk of a shutdown in so doing."

The political calculations are complex. While Republicans hold majority control, they face a razor-thin margin in the House — just one vote. This means they'll likely need Democratic support to pass any funding measure, as dozens of Republican hardliners often oppose such compromises.

House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar laid out his party's position clearly: "If they are interested in collaborating with us and us putting up votes to fund government, then they have to work with us. If they walk away, that is a signal that they have this on their own."

The implications of a shutdown would be far-reaching. While essential services like Social Security and Medicare would continue, national parks would close, security reviews would halt and civil litigation in courts would stop. Previous shutdowns under Trump's first term — including the longest in U.S. history at 35 days — demonstrated the severe disruption to federal services and workers' lives.

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., chair of the House Appropriations Committee, defended the Republican position: "A Republican Senate and a Republican House are not going to limit what a president can do, particularly when he has to sign the bill."

The involvement of Elon Musk in the Department of Government Efficiency project has added another layer of complexity to the negotiations. Democrats view the project's moves to eliminate agencies and fire federal workers as an overreach of executive power that needs to be checked through the appropriations process.

As the deadline approaches, the possibility of a compromise seems increasingly remote. Democrats argue that Republicans, as the majority party, bear responsibility for preventing a shutdown. Meanwhile, Republicans accuse Democrats of manufacturing a crisis through unreasonable demands.

The coming days will test whether Congress can bridge this divide or whether the nation will face its fourth government shutdown in recent years — a prospect that would impact thousands of federal workers and millions of Americans who depend on government services.