Op-Ed: Shutdowns Should Never Be Used for Partisan Leverage

By Congressman Nick LaLota

Democrats Suozzi and Gillen previously said no, I said no in 2023, but today’s Democrats are saying yes to force through pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies.

In 2018, during the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history, my colleague Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) said plainly: “We shouldn’t be holding all these people’s lives hostage because [the President is] trying to negotiate a deal for an issue he wants.” 

In October 2023, Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) echoed that view, warning shutdowns “put millions at risk and [waste] more time from Congress actually doing the work of the American people.”

They were right to make those statements. Shutting down government operations as a bargaining tactic is reckless, it hurts ordinary Americans, and it undermines national security.

That’s why, in 2023 and 2024, despite strong disagreements with President Biden’s open-border policies, I refused to use a shutdown to fight that battle.

Along with other responsible Republicans—including fellow Long Islanders Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) and Anthony D’Esposito (R-Island Park)—I voted to continue funding the government. We knew who would get hurt if we didn’t: our troops, our veterans, and the 31,000 federal employees on Long Island who keep critical services running.

Our fight over border policy belonged in the legislative and electoral arenas—not on the backs of families and federal workers.

Now, in 2025, DC Democrats are taking the opposite approach.

Just last week, House Democrats—including Suozzi and Gillen, who themselves once warned against shutdowns—voted to shut down the government outright by rejecting a clean 52-day funding bill with no partisan riders that simply extended existing Biden-era spending.

Why? To use a shutdown as leverage to extend pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies, by their own admission.

The consequences would be felt here at home. At Brookhaven National Lab, 3,000 scientists and engineers could see their work disrupted.

Newsday has reported that shutdowns risk leaving troops, air traffic controllers, and tens of thousands of federal workers on Long Island without pay—creating financial hardship for families and delays in air travel.

Services at the Northport VA Medical Center - relied on by thousands of veterans - could be disrupted.

For seniors, while Social Security checks would continue, a shutdown would delay local services, threaten nutrition programs, and weaken oversight of nursing homes.

The double standard is striking. When it was President Trump’s border wall, Democrats argued shutdowns were reckless.

When it was President Biden’s open border, Republicans still chose to fund the government. But now, with Democrats’ own priorities on the line, they are willing to grind government to a halt.

The American people deserve better. Shutdowns should never be a partisan tool.

-----------------------------------

Nick LaLota is the United States Congressman representing New York's 1st congressional district (North Shore and east end Suffolk County.)