Democrats and Republicans remain at an impasse as the current government shutdown becomes the longest in U.S. history. The dispute centers on the passage of a continuing resolution (CR) to fund federal operations, with both parties blaming each other for the ongoing closure.
Celeste Maloy, a Republican member of the House Appropriations Committee and Vice Chair of its Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, published an op-ed in Deseret News criticizing Democrats for their role in prolonging the shutdown. “Shutdowns are no way to govern the greatest country in the world,” Maloy wrote.
Maloy argued that before the shutdown began, Congress was close to returning to regular order by passing all 12 appropriations bills through committee—a step not achieved since fiscal year 2019. She noted her participation as one of 19 Republican conferees preparing to negotiate with Senate counterparts on these bills.
“To keep our momentum going, the House passed a clean, short-term bill to fund the government. I voted for that bill to avoid a shutdown. Unfortunately, the Senate shot it down. We have seen this story before,” Maloy stated.
She recounted previous shutdowns—citing those during President Bill Clinton’s administration in 1995, over Obamacare repeal efforts in 2013, and over border wall funding under President Donald Trump in 2018—to illustrate how such standoffs typically end poorly for those who initiate them.
Maloy criticized Senate Democrats for initially calling for a clean CR but later introducing one with policy provisions she described as partisan: “Reversing commonsense Medicaid reforms designed to protect the program’s long-term solvency; and permanently extending pandemic-era Affordable Care Act subsidies, turning a temporary emergency measure into a bloated entitlement.”
She reported that both versions of CR failed and highlighted local impacts: “As a result, Utahns are suffering — 86,000 Utah households lost their SNAP benefits.”
Maloy called for seven Senate Democrats to join Republicans in passing what she termed a clean CR: “The path forward is simple and achievable: Seven Senate Democrats must vote with Republicans to pass a clean continuing resolution — no gimmicks, no partisan add-ons — and reopen the government.”
She concluded by emphasizing historical lessons: “Shutdowns are no way to govern the greatest country in the world. And as history rightly shows, they rarely end well for those responsible for them. It is time to turn the lights back on, pay our public servants and get back to doing the people’s work.”
