The federal government is shut down after Senate Democrats twice blocked a House-passed bill to keep federal operations running, with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) accusing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) of demanding taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal aliens.
Johnson says Schumer made the demand personally to President Trump in the Oval Office:
“Chuck Schumer was in the Oval Office with me, what, 48 hours ago… and the president said, ‘Make your case. What is it you want?’ And Chuck Schumer repeated in that meeting what he put on paper… he wants to give healthcare to illegal aliens again.” Johnson said.
Democrats Block GOP Bill Twice
Democrats blocked the Republican continuing resolution (CR) twice in under 24 hours, triggering the shutdown. On the Senate floor, Schumer defended the move:
“It has now failed twice to get enough votes in this chamber. So Republicans need to negotiate with us,” Schumer said.
Johnson pushed back, pointing to Democrats’ rejection of a “clean, nonpartisan” CR and referencing policy in their alternative bill.
“Forty-four Senate Democrats voted to reject a clean, nonpartisan continuing funding resolution to keep the United States government open. The Democrats instead that they wanted to give healthcare to illegal aliens instead of keeping critical services provided for the American citizens. That’s what happened, plain and simple,” Johnson said on October 1.
What Democrats’ Own Bill Contains
At the center of the dispute is Section 2141 of the Democratic CR, which repeals the GOP health subtitle changes from President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The full CR text is publicly available.
Johnson said:
“That bill has already saved taxpayers $185 billion because it’s got 2.3 million ineligible recipients kicked off of Medicaid. What does that mean? There’s a lot of illegal aliens that were on that program who are not eligible to be there. We are strengthening Medicaid, and the Democrats want to unwind that because they have a political talking point.”
Johnson’s office issued a statement:
“…what Chuck Schumer is demanding in exchange for all those good things I just listed, he wants to reinstate free healthcare for illegal aliens paid by American taxpayers. We are not doing that. We can’t do that.”
House Republicans published a description of what they call the “Democrat Counterfeit Resolution,” claiming it restores “taxpayer-funded free healthcare for illegal aliens” and includes partisan policy sprawl.
Democrats’ own health one-pager says their plan would “repeal recent GOP health subtitle changes” and “permanently extend enhanced ACA premium tax credits,” but it makes no explicit reference to giving undocumented immigrants federal coverage.
Schumer’s Denial, Then & Now
Schumer has forcefully rejected GOP claims:
“They say that undocumented people are going to get these credits. That is absolutely false. That is one of the big lies that they tell,” he said last week.
“That is a damn lie. Not one dollar of Medicare, Medicaid or [ObamaCare] is allowed to go to undocumented immigrants.”
Yet, past statements are being pointed to by critics. In 1996, then-Congressman Schumer said:
“When they come here, they can get jobs, get benefits against the law — because of fraud.”
White House: “$1.5 Trillion Ransom Note”
The White House has echoed Johnson’s claims, branding the Democratic plan a “$1.5 trillion ransom note” stuffed with items like illegal alien healthcare, cuts to rural hospitals, and policy riders.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the shutdown “pure partisan politics.” Vice President JD Vance urged, “We need to reopen the government … before we have our negotiation about health care policy.”
Poll: Voters Strongly Oppose Shutdown
A New York Times/Siena poll found that 65% of registered voters believe Democrats should not shut down the government even if their demands aren’t met — including 43% of Democrats.
What’s at Stake
- Troops, Border Patrol, and federal employees may go without pay.
- Nutrition programs, such as WIC, telehealth services, and disaster relief, could lapse.
- Johnson promises Republicans will not be “held hostage” by demands for illegal-alien healthcare.
- Schumer insists that Republicans must return to the negotiating table.
For now, the government remains shut down — a fight Johnson is calling the “Schumer Shutdown.”