‘Progressives embraced the same disastrous mentality’ as GOP in the past: Washington Post
The Washington Post editorial board wrote Wednesday that the Democratic Party may have been led into a “trap” by its far-left wing for refusing to avert a government shutdown.
In its latest editorial, the board argued that the Congressional Progressive Caucus and other progressives forced Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to abandon a deal that could have kept the government open, leaving Democrats at the mercy of President Donald Trump.
The board wrote that although the Democratic base may be tempted to play hardball politics like the right has, it should see that “the Freedom Caucus’s tactics have failed to achieve Republicans’ goals every time” there’s been a shutdown.
“There is no reason to think this shutdown will end any differently for its left-wing counterpart. The most likely outcome is that Democrats will come to regret having just walked into a trap,” the board wrote.
“Left-wing Democrats, like the Freedom Caucus before them, enter this shutdown in a position of weakness. President Donald Trump and his budget director, Russell Vought, now have extraordinary authority to choose which agencies to close, what spending to prioritize and even which government workers to lay off,” the board stated.
A partial shutdown of the federal government began at midnight on Wednesday after Republican and Democratic lawmakers failed to agree on a continuing resolution to keep the government funded.
Democrats have insisted that any agreement to prevent a government shutdown must extend tax credits for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) beyond the end of this year, a provision Republicans have rejected.
The Post wrote that although Democratic lawmakers may believe they have leverage, the shutdown would not end well for them even if Republicans agreed to their health care demands.
“Even if Republicans decide to eventually come to the table for a compromise on health care this time around, the details could splinter the left, especially if they include conservative priorities. (Any deal that Trump cuts with Democrats on ACA subsidies would prompt some rank-and-file Republicans to vote against the compromise),” the board argued.
Trump Eyes Firing Thousands of Federal Workers Over Shutdown
The U.S. Capitol, hours before a partial government shutdown is set to take effect, in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 30, 2025. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)
It added that “chances are slim that the two parties could come to terms that Democratic activists would view as a decisive victory,” but noted that the party’s base doesn’t care.
“Yet the party’s base wants them to fight anyway, even if it means holding the government hostage.”
The Post noted that this same confrontational mentality has never helped Republicans when their more right-wing members pushed shutdowns in the past.
“In doing so, progressives embraced the same disastrous mentality that led the House Freedom Caucus to believe it could come out ahead in previous government funding standoffs: They wrongly assumed their political leverage would withstand the ensuing fallout,” the board wrote.
A closed sign stands in front of the National Archives on the first day of a government shutdown, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
It provided two examples, including in 2019, when a 35-day shutdown didn’t force Democrats into funding Trump’s border wall, and in 2013, when a GOP-led effort to defund Obamacare flopped.
Trump Eyes Firing Thousands of Federal Workers Over Shutdown
Politico reporter under fire after social media posts attacking Trump, MAGA voters resurface
A reporter for Politico is facing criticism for several social media posts attacking President Donald Trump as well as his voters have resurfaced while she is covering his presidency.
Cheyanne Daniels began working for Politico in May as a breaking news reporter after her three-year stint as the race and politics reporter for The Hill, according to her LinkedIn profile and her Politico staff page.
A report published Tuesday by The Washington Free Beacon has put a spotlight on her hyper-partisan social media activity going back to 2016. The posts were made while she was in journalism school between 2016-2021.
“Trump — oh you don’t deserve the truth people have thrown at you? Well I don’t deserve a racist, homophobic, sexist, misogynistic president” Daniels wrote in September 2016, according to screenshots published by the Free Beacon.
A reporter’s social media posts attacking President Donald Trump have resurfaced in a report published by The Washington Free Beacon (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In 2020, she admitted that she cried in reaction to Trump’s first victory while rejoicing Joe Biden‘s victory.
“4 years ago, I cried when I realized Donald Trump had been elected, knowing horrible things were to come. Now, I’m in my apartment in D.C., hearing people cheering in the streets screaming that he has been defeated, and I’m crying once again. But for a very different reason,” Daniels wrote on Nov. 7, 2020. Days later, Daniels took aim at Trump voters.
“Trump may have lost the election but over 70 million people voted for him — and some of those voters were people who felt, like their demagogue, that MY life as a Black woman doesn’t matter, that I shouldn’t exist, I threatened the purity of white power,” Daniels said.
Politico’s breaking news reporter Cheyanne Daniels repeatedly attacked Trump and his supporters in social media posts while she was in journalism school. (Screenshot/Politico)
She also had fun over the news that Trump’s official government social media accounts would be handed over to the forthcoming Biden administration on Inauguration Day 2021 while taking a swipe at Trump voters.
“This shouldn’t be news. Trump lost. Biden won. What’s that thing Magatts said in 2016?? Oh that’s right ‘He’S yOuR pReSiDeNt GeT oVeR iT,'” Daniels exclaimed.
Daniels revealed she cried tears of joy when Joe Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 election and that she cried tears of sadness when Trump first won in 2016. (Getty Images)
As outlined by The Free Beacon, Daniels has been covering major stories in recent days like the White House‘s response to the looming government shutdown and the administration’s efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Free Beacon also wrote that Daniels locked her X account after the outlet asked her about her posts. Neither Daniels nor Politico responded to Fox News Digital‘s requests for comment.
