Vice President J.D. Vance unloaded on Democrats Thursday night, blasting their handling of the record-breaking 43-day government shutdown and accusing them of “inflicting pain on Americans all for nothing.”
Appearing on Fox News with Sean Hannity, Vance said the shutdown was a reckless political maneuver driven by left-wing extremists in the Democratic Party, not legitimate policy differences.
“They caused a lot of stress for our troops. They made our air traffic controllers not get paid. They caused flight cancellations. They made families think they wouldn’t get their food benefits. All for literally nothing,” Vance said.
Congress voted to reopen the federal government after President Donald Trump signed a short-term continuing resolution late Wednesday. The new deal funds government operations through January 30 and extends SNAP benefits through the end of the fiscal year. The legislation passed with a 222–209 House vote, with six Democrats joining Republicans to approve the measure.
Vance noted the final agreement was functionally the same deal the administration had proposed six weeks earlier—a point he said laid bare the real motive behind Democrats’ hardline stance.
“We could have struck this exact deal 45 days ago. In fact, we met with Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer and said we will pass this exact deal. They said no.”
The vice president emphasized that moderate Democrats were privately skeptical of the shutdown but were cowed by the party’s activist wing.
“They all feel a little bit like they’re being held hostage,” he said, suggesting internal Democratic disarray and weakness in Schumer’s leadership.
“This was politically stupid. It was a huge mistake,” Vance added. “The American people saw through it.”
The shutdown froze key government functions, disrupted the airline industry, furloughed hundreds of thousands of workers, and halted critical food aid programs.
While Democrats tried to pin blame on Trump, the end result—a continuing resolution with no major concessions to the left—has strengthened Republicans’ narrative that the entire debacle was a failed power play.
Vance credited President Trump for holding firm under pressure and refusing to negotiate on terms of surrender.
“The president said every day that eventually Democrats were going to realize this was an absurd position, and that’s what they did,” he said.
The vice president also accused Democrats of prioritizing illegal immigrants over American citizens, claiming the shutdown fight illustrated a clear contrast in governing philosophies.
“We care about Americans. They care about illegal aliens. They made that super clear with this government shutdown fight,” Vance said.
While Democrats attempt to spin the deal as a compromise, Republicans are claiming victory, pointing out the absence of any new spending hikes or immigration concessions in the final bill.
Trump called the result “a clear message that we will never give in to extortion.”
Vance agreed, noting that voters would remember how the left weaponized the federal government to pursue a political vendetta.
“The Democrats thought they could score political points by hurting the country. Instead, they hurt themselves. And the American people won’t forget that.”
