The GOP says it's winning the shutdown. Some fear Trump's cuts may
change that
[October 04, 2025]
By JOEY CAPPELLETTI
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has embraced the federal
shutdown as an “unprecedented opportunity” to slash spending and shrink
government, but new rounds of targeted spending cuts from the White
House aimed at Democratic states and priorities are raising concerns
among Republicans that they may be at risk of ceding their political
advantage.
Republicans in Congress believe they hold the upper hand in four-day-old
stalemate, as Democrats voted against measures to keep the government
open because they want to attach additional policy measures. But the
sweeping cuts to home-state projects — and the threat of mass federal
firings — have some in the GOP worried the White House may be going too
far and potentially give Democrats a way out of their tight spot.
“This is certainly the most moral high ground Republicans have had in a
moment like this that I can recall, and I just don’t like squandering
that political capital when you have that kind of high ground,” GOP Sen.
Kevin Cramer of North Dakota told reporters this week.
As hopes faded Friday for a quick end to the shutdown — with Democrats
holding firm in a key Senate vote — the White House signaled more
layoffs and agency cuts could follow. Trump shared a video Thursday
night portraying budget director Russ Vought as the grim reaper. The
cuts are raising fresh questions about whether voters want a government
that uses discretionary power to punish political opponents — and
whether Republicans may face electoral consequences for the White
House’s actions.
“There’s the political ramifications that could cause backlash,” Cramer
said in another interview. “It makes everything going forward more
difficult for us.”
Since the shutdown began, Trump has moved to cancel $7.6 billion in
clean energy grants across 16 states, all of which voted for Democrat
Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential election. On Friday, the
administration announced an additional $2 billion cut, this time to a
major public transit project in Chicago. Press secretary Karoline
Leavitt said the administration is also reviewing funding to Portland,
Oregon.
“He's just literally took out the map and pointed to all the blue
states,” Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, told The Associated Press.
Democrats have seized on the shutdown and cuts as evidence of Trump’s
overreach. There could be near-term fallout, including in next month’s
governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia. Democratic candidates in
both states have linked their GOP opponents to Trump’s policies and
criticized them for not standing up to his latest moves.
In New Jersey, Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill blasted Republican Jack
Ciattarelli over Trump’s move to block funding for a long-delayed rail
tunnel between New York and New Jersey, saying it will hurt commuters
and put thousands of good-paying union jobs at risk.
“What’s wrong with this guy?” Sherrill said Friday.
In Virginia, Democrat Abigail Spanberger noted the state already has
been hit hard by job cuts made by Trump’s Department of Government
Efficiency. She said Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is
“refusing to stand up for our workforce and our economy.”
Earle-Sears said Democrats are to blame for the shutdown, and said
Spanberger did nothing to encourage the state’s Democratic senators to
stop it.
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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La. and Senate Majority Leader
John Thune, R-S.D., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill,
Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
The administration’s targeting of blue states has already begun to
ripple through states like California, where $1.2 billion in funding for
the state’s hydrogen hub was scrapped. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said
it threatens more than 200,000 jobs.
Though Harris won California handily in 2024, the state includes several
competitive House districts that could decide control of the chamber in
2026. Similar districts exist in other states affected by the cuts,
including New York and New Hampshire, which also has key gubernatorial
and Senate races.
Democratic groups have moved quickly to tie local Republicans to the
fallout. American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic group, has
highlighted swing-district Republicans in states where cuts have
occurred, accusing them of having “sat by and let it happen.”
“The cruelty that they might unleash on everyday Americans using the
pretense of a shutdown is only going to backfire against them,” House
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in an interview with The
Associated Press and other outlets at the Capitol.
The cuts are also complicating Senate negotiations, prolonging a
shutdown that could leave thousands of federal workers without pay and
halt key programs. Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat whom
Republicans have tried to sway, said “there's no question” the cuts have
damaged talks.
“If you’re trying to get people to come together and try to find common
ground, that’s the absolute wrong way to do it,” said Peters.
Sen. Angus King, a Maine independent, broke from Democrats earlier this
week to support the GOP funding bill. He called the cuts “so utterly
partisan as to be almost laughable.”
“If they overreach, which is entirely possible, I think they’re going to
be in trouble with Republicans as well,” said King.
Many Senate Republicans have not endorsed Vought’s approach directly,
instead blaming Democrats for rejecting funding bills and opening the
door to the White House’s more aggressive moves.
“It’s the reason why Republicans have continued to support a
continuation,” said GOP Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota. “If you've
noticed, Republicans have solidly supported this short-term continuing
resolution because we do not want to see this.”
“It's not like we promoted it," said Rounds. "We’ve done everything we
can right now to try to avoid it.”
—
Associated Press reporter Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this
report.
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