It's rare for President Trump and Democrats to agree, but both say the longest-ever government shutdown contributed to a dismal showing for Republicans in Tuesday's off-year election.
"I think if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor, negative for the Republicans," Trump said at a breakfast with Republican senators Wednesday. "And they say that I wasn't on the ballot was the biggest factor, but I don't know about that."
Democrats won in races up and down the ballot and across the country with a message focused on affordability and opposing Trump administration policies – including the yearlong push to fire federal workers, slash spending and punish people who oppose the president.
Congressional leaders have so far failed to negotiate or move with urgency to end the shutdown, even as millions of Americans face the loss of federal food aid and rising federal health insurance premiums, and many government employees work without pay.
The president has consistently framed the appropriations lapse as something Democrats have caused and only Democrats can solve, but the election results cap a shift in tone that suggests a resolution could come sooner – and with his approval.
Here are four ways Tuesday's results could influence the length of the government shutdown:
Voters unhappy with the Republican Party's governance put pressure on Trump
One of the biggest rebukes of Trump administration policies came in Virginia, home to around 320,000 federal workers and hundreds of thousands of federal contractors.
Democrat Abigail Spanberger won the governor's race there by 15 points with a message that argued Trump's push to fire federal workers and slash federal spending — and later, the ongoing government shutdown — harmed the state's economy.
In New Jersey, the Trump administration's announcement threatening to terminate funding for the major Gateway Tunnel rail project between Newark and New York City loomed large over the final days of the election. Democrat Mikie Sherrill bested Trump-backed Jack Ciattarelli in the governor's race by a similar margin to Spanberger's.
The Democratic Party is also touting upsets in two Georgia statewide utility regulator contests, the retention of state Supreme Court judges in Pennsylvania and a slew of flipped municipal elections as evidence its message as the party that is better for economic and public safety policies is resonating.
Democrats keep holding out, emboldened by the election
Tuesday's election has Democrats feeling good about how they are responding to Republican governance, which could lead to a continuation of the shutdown.
Democrats want the Republican-led Congress to prevent insurance premium subsidies from expiring at the end of the year for millions of Americans enrolled in Affordable Care Act health plans. If Republicans agree to that, Democrats say they would then vote to fund the government so it can reopen.
Researchers estimate the average cost of insurance purchased through the health insurance marketplace would double and millions would become uninsured without the subsidies.
At several points during the shutdown, the White House has taken steps to try to target Democrats and force them to drop their demands, like cutting grant funding for programs the Biden administration supported, seeking to lay off workers and reversing guidance that would keep SNAP benefits going through the funding lapse.
After the election, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a letter to the president demanding he negotiate with them to reopen the government.
"We write to demand a bipartisan meeting of legislative leaders to end the GOP shutdown of the federal government and decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis," the letter reads. "Democrats stand ready to meet with you face to face, anytime and any place."
The note ends with Trump's signature line: "Thank you for your attention to this matter."
The president once again accused Democrats of holding the country "hostage" over the shutdown in remarks at a business forum Wednesday afternoon.
Trump keeps pushing for an end to the filibuster
The president has declined to negotiate with Democrats and has doubled down on his belief that Senate Republicans should eliminate the legislative filibuster that maintains a higher vote threshold for some legislation to pass through the upper chamber.
"It's time for Republicans to do what they have to do, and that's terminate the filibuster," Trump reiterated at Wednesday's Republican breakfast. "It's the only way you can do it. And if you don't terminate the filibuster, you'll be in bad shape. We won't pass any legislation."
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has indicated that ending the filibuster is a non-starter. Senate Republicans are overwhelmingly opposed to using what's called the "nuclear option" of abolishing the filibuster, warning that Democratic control of Congress in the future could see the passage of sweeping legislation.
Time runs out to pass an existing funding fix
The House passed a temporary spending plan at the end of September without any Democratic voters but Senate approval requires seven Democrats or independents to join with the Republican majority. The continuing resolution has an expiration date of Nov. 21, though.
That means the House, which has been out of session for more than 40 days, will have to come up with a new plan to reopen the government and resume work on bills to fund different parts of the government for the full fiscal year — and get the Senate to agree.
In the meantime, more essential services the government provides run the risk of running out of money, seeing staffing shortages and encountering other problems due to the lapse in funding.
"When you shut down the government, bad things happen, and the longer the government is shut down, the more bad things will happen," Devin O'Connor with the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, previously told NPR. "And even with the Trump administration taking relatively aggressive actions to try to prevent certain harms over time, it's just going to grow and it's going to become more and more painful."
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