Former Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips is offering his insight Tuesday, as it appears that the federal government shutdown is coming to an end.
The Senate passed legislation Monday to reopen the government, bringing the longest shutdown in history closer to an end as a small group of Democrats ratified a deal with Republicans despite searing criticism from within their party.
Phillips, who chose not to run again for Minnesota's third Congressional District after a failed run at the 2024 Democratic nomination for president, told WCCO's Chad Hartman this was bound to happen to Democrats holding out for a deal to fund health care initiatives, and Republicans in control of both the House and Senate.
"It was inevitable that swing state senators would eventually capitulate because they're seeing the pain in their communities and their states," Phillips said.
Phillips adds that the reputation of the country has been tarnished by this shutdown, and he fears for the stability of the democracy.
"We are either going to create a vacuum for authoritarians to lead, as I think we're doing right now, or we'll be relegated to a failed democracy," Phillips said. "And I just wish our leaders would prioritize preventing that than this nonstop bickering and nonsense."
The 41-day shutdown could last a few more days as members of the House, which has been on recess since mid-September, return to Washington to vote on the legislation.
President Donald Trump has signaled support for the bill, saying Monday that “we’re going to be opening up our country very quickly.”
The final Senate vote, 60-40, broke a grueling stalemate that lasted more than six weeks as Democrats demanded that Republicans negotiate with them to extend health care tax credits that expire Jan. 1.
The Republicans never did, and five moderate Democrats eventually switched their votes as federal food aid was delayed, airport delays worsened and hundreds of thousands of federal workers continued to go unpaid.
Phillips critical of wealth disparity in the U.S.
Phillips was also critical of the disparity of wealth in the U.S. saying there are too many policies benefitting the rich, and not benefitting the middle class.
"Two thirds of American's can't afford a $500 emergency. The bottom 50% of Americans hold only a little more than 2% of American wealth," says Phillips. "Think about that. So, if we really focus on an existential threat, which is to me, disparities leading to ultimately God forbid, what has happened before, revolution. It will happen at some point. There's an element of that happening right now, whether it's Trump populism or populism on the left."
Phillips added that it is on Americans to elect different leaders who better serve the greater good.
The government shutdown exacerbated that, with millions of Americans struggling with food issues and federal workers missing multiple paychecks.
About 1.25 million federal workers haven’t been paid since Oct. 1. Thousands of flights have been canceled, a trend that is expected to continue this week even as Congress moves toward reopening the government. Government contract awards have slowed and some food aid recipients have seen their benefits interrupted.
Most of the lost economic activity will be recovered when the government reopens, as federal workers will receive back pay. But some canceled flights won’t be retaken, missed restaurant meals won’t be made up, and some postponed purchases will end up not happening at all.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that a six-week shutdown will reduce growth in this year’s fourth quarter by about 1.5 percentage points. That would cut growth by half from the third quarter. The reopening should boost first-quarter growth next year by 2.2 percentage points, the CBO projected, but about $11 billion in economic activity will be permanently lost.