Pressure on the Democrat party to accept the Republicans’ clean funding bill for the federal government and end the Schumer Shutdown exploded on Monday when the largest union representing federal workers told the party to give up and reopen operations.
It is the American Federal of Government Employees, representing more than 800,000 federal workers the biggest union in the fight, that said it’s time to end.
It’s called the Schumer Shutdown because of Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, who has demanded an extra $1.5 trillion in spending on his pet projects in order for him to let his party support the clean continuing of funding that the Republicans had proposed weeks ago.
President Donald Trump has been able to mitigate some of the shutdown damage, like wages for military members that would have been lost, by redesignating various funds to be used for specific purposes, such as income from tariffs to be used for paychecks.
Democrats have been demanding taxpayer money for leftist propaganda, for Obamacare subsidy extensions, for health care for illegal aliens, and such.
The Washington Examiner said the union called for the shutdown to end “today.”
That statement sided with Republicans “in their demand that lawmakers pass a ‘clean,’ short-term funding bill,” the report explained.
AFGE chief Everett Kelley said both parties have made a point, but it’s time to end the “avoidable crisis.”
“The solution he endorsed, a funding measure without any controversial policy amendments, represents a setback for Democrats, who have demanded healthcare concessions as part of any vote,” the report said.
In a new statement first shared with NBC News, the American Federation of Government Employees’ president calls on Congress to pass a “clean continuing resolution.” https://t.co/AaTdsn9GKT pic.twitter.com/WhMndJ2eYI
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) October 27, 2025
Federal workers union demands end to government shutdown, ups pressure on Democrats to foldhttps://t.co/K70vSAZ5xA pic.twitter.com/xSi1TTSKTf
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) October 27, 2025
Kelley’s statement included, “This week, Congress pushed our nation into the fourth week of a full government shutdown – an avoidable crisis that is harming families, communities, and the very institutions that hold our country together. Both political parties have made their point, and still there is no clear end in sight.”
He said Congress should focus on solving problems for Americans, “rather than on who is going to get the blame for a shutdown that Americans dislike. Because when the folks who serve this country are standing in line for food banks after missing a second paycheck because of this shutdown, they aren’t looking for partisan spin. They’re looking for the wages they earned. The fact that they’re being cheated out of it is a national disgrace.”
While federal workers mostly, in the past, have gotten back pay for government shutdowns, that likely will not happen for all affected workers this time, as Trump has used the open door of a closed government to confirm that there are layoffs being made.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he hopes the union’s demand for a continuing resolution will prompt a “turning point” for Schumer.
Besides paychecks the military and others, a deadline soon will hit in that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is scheduled to run out of money next weekend.