WASHINGTON

The government shutdown that never should have happened is over. Voters should be furious with most Democrats, and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., for engaging in a 43-day stunt that hurt the American public for no reason other than “beating” President Donald Trump.

The worst part: It was never going to work. Republicans control the White House, Senate and House of Representatives. The math was against Democrats from the get-go. They never had a chance, and still they shortchanged their own constituents with the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

So while Democrats wanted to extend the enhanced health-care tax credit — introduced during the COVID pandemic and scheduled to expire at the end of the year — they simply didn’t have the numbers, and they were not going to get them.

There ar

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