By Congressman Mike Simpson
WASHINGTON—Today, Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson released an op-ed in response to the Idaho Statesman’s out-of-touch opinion piece regarding the ongoing Schumer Shutdown.
The full op-ed is available below.
A few of you may have seen a recent opinion piece by the Idaho Statesman about the ongoing Schumer Shutdown.
Like many Idahoans, I don’t usually read the Statesman. But when they twisted one of my past op-eds to push a false narrative, I couldn’t stay silent.
I’ve always said that government shutdowns are bad politics and bad policy. I’ve said it under Republican presidents. I’ve said it under Democrats. And I stand by it.
But let’s get one thing straight here: Republicans didn’t shut down the government. Democrats did. And they did it deliberately.
On September 19th, the House passed a clean funding extension, with no policy riders, no gimmicks, and a limited timeframe, just a seven-week measure to keep the government open. In other words, exactly what the Democrats asked for leading up to the end of the fiscal year.
Republicans were shocked, myself included, when nearly every Democrat voted against this continuing resolution (CR). This is the same short-term funding extension Democrats supported thirteen times under President Biden.
Same bill. New president. Ding ding ding – alarm bells should be going off.
This was a nonpartisan funding measure. As an appropriator, this is one of the cleanest CRs I’ve ever seen. It was designed to keep the government open while we continue bipartisan negotiations on single-subject spending bills.
The Statesman conveniently left that out, as well as shamefully claiming that Republicans view Americans as human pawns. Wrong.
Listen to Democrats themselves. The number two House Democrat, Katherine Clark, admitted they view the American people as “leverage” in this fight. And Chuck Schumer bragged that every day of this shutdown gets “better” for Democrats. They’ve said the quiet part out loud, and the Statesman didn’t bother including those quotes.
The Statesman’s claims about how the Trump administration is handling the shutdown are also blatantly false. There’s only so much any administration can do when Democrats have kept the government closed for nearly 40 days.
I commend President Trump and his team for minimizing the impact on the American people. Unlike previous administrations, such as the Obama administration, the Trump administration has attempted to make this shutdown as painless as possible.
Americans remember in 2013, when President Obama locked down national parks and even barricaded the open-air World War II Memorial, turning away veterans. That was a deliberate effort to make the shutdown as painful as possible.
Now it’s 2025, and President Trump has kept America’s parks open, protected military paychecks, and ensured that families relying on SNAP and WIC continue to get the help they need.
That said, it doesn’t mean this shutdown isn’t painful. Look at what’s happening at airports or at food banks throughout the country. The longer the Democrats refuse to engage, the more painful this shutdown will be.
Where do we go from here? Democrats need to set aside their partisan demands, get off their high horse, and fund vital services by supporting the same clean, bipartisan funding measure they supported thirteen times under President Biden.
Their only reason for opposing it now? Trump Derangement Syndrome. And it seems the Statesman has caught a severe case of it, too.
There was a time – years ago – when the Statesman used to be honest. Readers didn’t have to agree, but could count on their reporting to be accurate. Those days are gone, and the paper has become little more than a partisan outlet.
Frankly, their latest piece is a new low – even for them. And that’s saying something.
About Mike Simpson
An Idaho native, Mike Simpson was born in Burley and raised in Blackfoot. His political career began in 1980, when he was elected to the Blackfoot City Council. In 1984, he was elected to the Idaho Legislature where he served until 1998, the last six years serving as Speaker. Mike is currently serving his fourteenth term in the House of Representatives for Idaho’s second congressional district. Visit https://simpson.house.gov/ to learn more or find contact info.
