Schumer Shutdown Showed Vermont Democrats are Warped By Washington

VTGOP Monday Message for 11/17/2025

VT Republican Party

Nov 17, 2025

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Schumer Shutdown Showed Vermont Democrats are Warped by Washington


The Schumer shutdown has ended. While many are rejoicing that hundreds of Vermonters who are federal employees now have certainty that their paycheck is coming, and thousands on SNAP know they can buy groceries, some people are still upset. Most notably, Vermont’s three federal delegates have each made public statements indicating that reopening the government—and ensuring workers and families got paid—was not the outcome they wanted.

Vermont’s sole Congressional Representative, Becca Balint, called reopening “a mistake” and insisted her party needs to “hold the damn line,” suggesting she believed it would have been better to continue depriving federal workers of their salary and low-income Vermonters of their food assistance to score political points. She also said “this whole thing stinks” and, in another interview, called it “B.S.”

Senator Welch, once viewed as a moderate voice and consensus builder, had been rumored as someone who might cross over to help Republicans reopen the government. But when the roll was called, he was not among them. Despite admitting that “a shutdown is a failure” and has “negative impacts” on federal workers, he continued to obstruct even when it served no practical purpose.

 
But none expressed as much displeasure as Sen. Bernie Sanders. On November 5th he claimed reopening the government without Democrats getting their way “would be a serious, serious mistake.” Days later, he escalated to calling it “a horrific mistake.” And when the final vote came—bringing relief to workers and families—Sanders called it “a very bad night… a very, very bad vote.”

While Sanders has long operated from an alarmist mentality, both Welch and Balint once had reputations in Montpelier as bipartisan problem solvers who put Vermonters first. That reputation now looks like either a mirage—or evidence they have been fundamentally warped by Washington.

All three federal Democrats expressed more frustration that their party lost leverage than relief for the Vermonters whose daily lives were on the line. Meanwhile, back in Vermont, Republican Governor Phil Scott was working alongside Democrats in the Legislature to stabilize the situation. The Emergency Board created a temporary plan within our limited resources to provide a short-term safety net for SNAP recipients. Had Sanders, Welch, and Balint gotten their way, the burden on the state could have grown significantly as they pushed Washington further into dysfunction. Their stance was increasingly at odds with Vermont’s needs—another sign they have been warped by Washington and insulated from the real-world effects on their own constituents.

One reason Welch and Balint may be struggling is that neither is used to serving in the minority. Welch was briefly in the minority decades ago, but most of his career was spent in majority power. Balint never served a single day in the minority during her entire time in the Vermont Legislature. For most of their political lives, Democrats have been able to get whatever they want. That era is over—and they don’t seem to know how to adapt.

Washington encourages politicians to care more about partisan games, leverage, and “showing strength” than about the people they represent. Welch and Balint now seem caught in that mindset. Prioritizing the interests of national party activists over the Vermonters who faithfully showed up for work—even when Congress refused to authorize their pay—was politics over principle. And they know full well that only Congress can appropriate money. When they refuse to do their job, there is no workaround. President Trump cannot spend money Congress never authorized. He is not a king.

As Vermonters watch these three Democrats become further warped by Washington, it naturally raises concerns about whether Democrats back in Montpelier are drifting in the same direction. Voters already see state Democrats dropping the ball on education reform, basic public safety, and housing affordability. Many are looking more closely at the Vermont Republican Party and at Governor Phil Scott, whose administration—supported by newly elected Republicans—has made small but meaningful progress on affordability in just its first year. That stands in stark contrast to the chaos that existed when Democrats used their super-majority to override vetoes and steamroll the Governor’s office back when they had all the leverage they wanted.

What voters see now, both in Washington and Montpelier, is a Democratic Party increasingly consumed by partisan maneuvering rather than practical solutions. They are no longer fit to wield the power they have enjoyed for so long. They have been spoiled by it. Nothing reveals this more clearly than the shutdown. One cannot credibly claim that a 40+ day shutdown was “good policy,” or that ending it was a “mistake,” unless one has truly adopted the worldview of the Democrats who have been, through years of partisan reinforcement, warped by Washington.


Paul Dame
VTGOP Chairman

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