Chuck Schumer held federal workers hostage for the fourth week running.
One Republican Congressman finally said what everyone else was thinking.
And Byron Donalds exposed Chuck Schumer's shutdown game with two words that left Democrats squirming.
Schumer's fourth government shutdown under Trump
Florida Congressman Byron Donalds ripped into Senate Democrats this week for their role in forcing the longest government shutdown in recent history – all over what Republicans say comes down to one issue: taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants.
"You can't negotiate with crazy," Donalds told listeners during a radio interview on 92.5 FM WFSX Fox News Radio-Estero.¹
The shutdown entered its fourth week with no end in sight.
Chuck Schumer blocked every Republican attempt to reopen the government and pay federal workers – including military personnel who continued reporting for duty without paychecks.
This marks Schumer's fourth government shutdown during Trump presidencies.
The pattern is clear: when Trump's in office, Schumer manufactures crises to extract concessions Democrats couldn't win at the ballot box.
Senate Democrats voted down legislation that would have paid troops and federal employees during the shutdown.
"The Democrats yesterday voted no when it came to paying the troops and paying federal employees," Donalds explained. "The Senate Democrats said no, they don't want to pay them. This is crazy to me."²
Only three Senate Democrats – John Fetterman, Jon Ossoff, and Raphael Warnock – broke ranks to support paying federal workers.
The rest followed Schumer's orders to keep the government closed until Republicans surrendered.
Trump's immigration enforcement threatens Democrat power base
The real fight isn't about healthcare – it's about Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration that threatens Democrats' long-term electoral strategy.
Democrats demanded Republicans reverse key provisions from the One Big Beautiful Bill that cut off taxpayer subsidies to illegal aliens and tightened Medicaid eligibility requirements.
"Again, all of what we're talking about here is healthcare for illegals," Donalds stated. "We're not paying for that. We're just not going to do it. That's just the way it is."³
The White House documented how Democrats' proposal would spend nearly $200 billion on healthcare for illegal immigrants over the next decade – enough money to fund the entire Children's Health Insurance Program.⁴
Democrats tried hiding behind claims they only wanted to restore benefits for "lawfully present" immigrants like DACA recipients.
That's Washington doublespeak for the 1.4 million people living in America who haven't received formal legal status enforceable in court.
Republicans correctly identified this as funding benefits for people who shouldn't be here in the first place.
Schumer's previous shutdown record proves he only manufactures these crises when Trump occupies the White House.
In March 2025, Schumer actually voted with Republicans to avoid a shutdown because he feared Trump would use the crisis to accelerate federal workforce reductions and agency eliminations.⁵
That's exactly what happened anyway – Trump authorized eliminating 4,000 "non-essential" government jobs across eight agencies even without a shutdown.⁶
So when Schumer reversed course in October and forced this shutdown, Democrats calculated they could blame Republicans and extract concessions on immigration enforcement.
Donalds pushes WEIGH Act to stop illegal alien truckers
Donalds used the interview to highlight his legislation targeting another avenue illegal immigrants exploit: commercial trucking.
The WEIGH Act passed the House and awaits Senate action once government reopens.
"My bill, the Weigh Act, when we open the government back this thing needs to pass and move through both chambers," Donalds urged.⁷
The legislation requires commercial vehicle weigh stations along interstate highways to verify truck drivers possess valid CDLs and demonstrate English proficiency.
Federal law already requires English proficiency for commercial drivers, but states stopped enforcing it years ago.
Donalds introduced the bill after an illegal immigrant from India, Harjinder Singh, caused a fatal crash on Florida's Turnpike that killed three people.⁸
Singh performed an illegal U-turn on a high-speed expressway despite barely speaking English and holding questionable licenses from multiple states.
When federal officials tested Singh's English comprehension, he correctly identified just one of four road signs and answered only two of twelve questions about English understanding.⁹
"You get to check their ability to understand English and you get to check if they're here legally," Donalds explained. "All that has to be checked at weigh stations and that's the biggest way you do it."¹⁰
The Congressman argued targeting the commercial sector creates the strongest incentive for compliance since companies face massive costs when trucks sit stranded after drivers get detained.
"If somebody is driving the truck and they're stopped and taken off the truck, the company, they have to figure out who's going to come and pick up the load and that's very expensive," Donalds noted. "So that's the way you have to deal with this."¹¹
Nobody knows how long Schumer will hold out
The shutdown already became the second-longest in American history at 28 days.
Federal employees missed their first full paycheck, and the Agriculture Department announced it won't issue November food stamp benefits for more than 40 million Americans.¹²
Democrats blocked every Republican proposal to fund essential services while negotiations continue.
Schumer demanded Republicans first agree to restore all the benefits Trump eliminated before he'd allow any vote on reopening the government.
That's hostage-taking, not negotiating.
"I don't know, this could end next week. You could go a couple weeks. We'll see how long they want to hold out," Donalds acknowledged.¹³
Republicans passed a clean continuing resolution in the House that would fund government at current levels through November 21.
The bill sits in the Senate where Schumer refuses to allow a vote unless Democrats get their immigration concessions first.
Donalds predicted California and other Democrat-run states face the harshest consequences as the shutdown drags on.
"They're out of touch and just nuts when it comes to what makes sense in the United States," Donalds said of California's leadership.¹⁴
Trump won a mandate last November on border security and ending benefits for illegal immigrants.
Schumer's trying to reverse that mandate through shutdown extortion.
Republicans won't cave.
¹ "Florida Rep. Byron Donalds Rips Schumer Shutdown: 'You Can't Negotiate With Crazy,'" Tampa Free Press, October 27, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ "FACT: Democrats Shut Down Government Over Free Healthcare for Illegals," The White House, October 1, 2025.
⁵ "Government shutdown: Chuck Schumer saw the future. He still changed his mind," Boston Globe, October 27, 2025.
⁶ "Government shutdown continues, Chuck Schumer's predictions hold true," The Hill, October 23, 2025.
⁷ Tampa Free Press, October 27, 2025.
⁸ "Byron Donalds Introduces 'WEIGH Act' After Fatal Semi-Truck Accident," The Floridian, September 16, 2025.
⁹ "GOP rep targets trucker's English skills after illegal migrant charged in deadly Florida crash," Fox News, September 9, 2025.
¹⁰ Tampa Free Press, October 27, 2025.
¹¹ Ibid.
¹² "Government shutdown drags on as missed paychecks, benefit lapses increase pressure for deal," CBS News, October 27, 2025.
¹³ Tampa Free Press, October 27, 2025.
¹⁴ Ibid.
