In Washington, enough senators agree to a compromise, thereby allowing the federal government’s offices to reopen. Which party won the shutdown?
November 10, 2025, 06:25Nov 10, 2025, 06:26
Renzo Ruf, Washington / ch media
After almost six weeks, there are signs that the shutdown in Washington is coming to an end. Late on Sunday evening, the Senate in Washington gave the green light to a compromise that would allow the offices of the American federal government to be opened – perhaps in a few days if everything goes well.
This breakthrough was made possible because a sufficiently large number of Democrats remembered the old nursery rhyme “The clever one gives in and the donkey stops.” The senators voted yes, even though they missed their goal in this historically long shutdown.
The opposition party had repeatedly promised since the beginning of October that it would only agree to an end to the shutdown if Washington did something to prevent an explosion in health insurance premiums. But the Republicans refused to make a concession here. Now eight moderate Democrats gave in, to the great annoyance of many party members. “Our strategy didn’t work,” said a member of the Democratic faction in the Senate, somewhat laconically, about the capitulation on Sunday.
Pressure on Trump remains
But the Republicans can’t really be happy about their victory. Because the basic problem that was responsible for President Donald Trump’s party’s defeat at the ballot box last week remains: the American cost of living is high and many voters believe that the President is not taking strong enough action against high health insurance premiums or rising electricity costs.
Instead, Trump celebrates decadent parties at his private estate in Florida or hosts foreign politicians at the White House. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban spoke on Friday, followed on Monday by the new Syrian ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Would rather celebrate parties and meet state guests than deal with the renewal of the US health insurance system: Donald Trump.Image: keystone
The political truce, which was approved by the Senate on Sunday, should apply until the end of January. In practice, this means that Republicans in Washington, who control both chambers of Congress, have three months to solve one of the most complex problems in American politics – and present a proposal for reforming the health insurance system that can win a majority.
And if they don’t manage to do that, there is a risk of another backlash from voters in the 2026 election year. This will at least be ensured by the estimated 22 million citizens who will no longer receive reduced premiums from January and will therefore have to pay massively higher health insurance bills.
Trump can prevent this by finally convincing his party that the world’s largest economy needs a functioning health insurance system that all Americans can afford. This is backbreaking work and Trump cannot win a Nobel Peace Prize with it. But politically the effort would be worth it, for the president, his Republican Party and, not least, for the American people. (aargauerzeitung.ch)