For years, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) has warned that government shutdowns are reckless, irresponsible, and harmful to working families. She has called shutdowns a failure of leadership and no way to govern. In 2013, during the Obama administration, Shaheen condemned Republicans for using budget deadlines to negotiate policy differences, saying, “We need to keep the government open and stop the politics of brinkmanship.”

But now, in 2025, Shaheen’s own words are coming back to haunt her.

During this, the longest shutdown in government history, Shaheen has shifted her message. Instead of demanding an immediate reopening of the government, she is tying any funding deal to her party’s push to extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits — a completely unrelated policy issue.

As a candi

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