The Private Sector Can End The Government Shutdown

Oct. 25, 2025, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government Executive Director Robert Romano today issued the following statement urging the Senate Democrats to end their government shutdown:

“Democrats think they can keep the government shut down indefinitely until they get what they want on expanded Obamacare tax credits and ending prohibitions on illegal aliens accessing public health care, choosing not to cooperate with President Trump and Congressional Republicans. What they haven’t considered is that President Trump and Republicans can do the same thing, and choose not to cooperate with the opposition party as Congress grinds to a halt on appropriations for the foreseeable future.

“The President could offer a Nov. 21 deadline to Democrats to reopen the government and sit down to talk — that’s when the House passed continuing resolution would expire if it ever passes. After that, they don’t get shit. Nobody does. The President and Congress could just opt to shut down the government for a year or more and see how the government operates without Congress being involved. Run the government without any discretionary appropriations whatsoever and just run the mandatory spending programs after the President conducts a thorough review of the federal law of what Congress has required must run even in the absence of discretionary appropriations, reprogramming revenues and funds on an emergency basis to keep things afloat. Maybe not borrowing so much money for a little while helps interest rates to drop as demand for treasuries increases.

“In the meantime, the President and the private banking sector can end government shutdowns once and for all. All the President needs to do is work his art of the deal with big banks to lend to excepted workers, loans totaling the sum of their salaries, until Congress gets its act together. The workers are legally guaranteed backpay with interest as soon as the shutdown ends, and so they’ll just repay the loans when they finally get paid. The banks could even require that they do so as a condition for the loan. Banks, which are already getting involved voluntarily to assist federal workers, can bundle the worker bridge loans as securities, which are legally guaranteed to pay and are as good as gold, to keep the program liquid. The longer the shutdown goes on, the more interest will accrue for the backpay (banks can split it with the workers or whatever), causing the speculative value of the securities to increase. It’s a win-win, causing Senate Democrats to lose leverage in the shutdown. If it works, maybe Congress never again tries to hold the economy hostage like this and the government can get back to work.”

Attachments:

5 U.S.C. § 5596(b)(2)(A) An amount payable under paragraph (1)(A)(i) of this subsection shall be payable with interest. (B)Such interest—(i)shall be computed for the period beginning on the effective date of the withdrawal or reduction involved and ending on a date not more than 30 days before the date on which payment is made; (ii)shall be computed at the rate or rates in effect under section 6621(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 during the period described in clause (i); and (iii)shall be compounded daily. (C)Interest under this paragraph shall be paid out of amounts available for payments under paragraph (1) of this subsection. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/5596

For media availability contact Americans for Limited Government at media@limitgov.org.

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Oct. 23, 2025, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government Executive Director Robert Romano today issued the following statement urging the Senate Democrats to end their shutdown:

“It’s never actually happened before since long government shutdowns are rare but I wonder what the political consequences would be if a recession happened right now? We need data. We’re flying the U.S. economy blind right now. Don’t markets need this data? Doesn’t the Fed? Unemployment has increased by 1.6 million since Jan. 2023, which followed the peak inflation seen in 2022—and who knows what is now? Don’t Democrats want to know what the inflation is so they can complain about it? Policymakers here and around the world are missing key indicators that are essential to setting interest rates and conducting foreign exchange, nothing to be toyed with. If nothing else, we have an obligation to our trade partners to tell them what is going on with the economy or else they might start hiding data, too. Right now everyone’s guessing. The President should start to articulate strong economic consequences that could unfold the longer Democrats’ desperate gambit to hold the economy hostage because they lost the election goes on.

“No, you don’t get Obamacare 3.0 for failing to do your jobs and funding the government! Yes, that’s what losing the election means. Democrats should reopen the government now and sit down with the President, or if the economy really was in trouble, which by the way there are higher odds than usual, it’ll fall on their heads.”

For media availability contact Americans for Limited Government at media@limitgov.org.

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Oct. 21, 2025, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government Executive Director Robert Romano today issued the following statement urging the Senate to pass the clean continuing resolution and end the government shutdown:

“Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are approaching a point of no return with their ill-advised government shutdown. Reductions in force are mandated under federal law and regulations when there is a ‘shortage of funds’, which Congressional Democrats have artificially created. Congress in its infinite wisdom has never thought beyond compensating excepted and unexcepted employees after a lapse in funding ends, always assuming that Congress will pass the funding bill within a sufficient amount of time — the longest partial shutdown ever was 35 days — and thus has left open to interpretation what legally must happen during a prolonged lapse in funding.

“For example, what if a government shutdown went on for months or a year or two? Would the argument be that the people who are no longer working or getting paid somehow must be allowed to keep their positions? It’s a ludicrous position.

“The Constitution is clear in Article I, Section 9 that no funds may be spent except from appropriations originating in the House of Representatives. Well, right now there are no discretionary appropriations originating from the House, because the Senate Democrats are filibustering the clean continuing resolution in a desperate bid to indefinitely continue expanded tax credits for 24 million Obamacare exchange recipients and to put illegal aliens back on government health care rolls. But emergency shutdown processes at the federal government cannot continue indefinitely. There is some notice required to implement reductions in force, however, at a certain point, the shortage of funds will mandate that there’s nothing left for the government to do but to start laying non-essential employees off. And that’s just the beginning. What then?

“At a certain point, if Congress cannot function in fulfilling its Article I responsibilities because 41 Senators are holding up funding, either the Senate will have to vote to override standing Senate rules and the filibuster as they’ve done for presidential appointments — which could be a really bad idea — or else the President will be required to declare a national emergency.

“Most spending is mandatory spending: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, the military, etc. and somebody has to be there to spend it. The President is required to keep the mandatory functions of government running regardless of what Congress does. The Anti-Deficiency Act provides for ‘excepted’ employees but the law only contemplates post-lapse compensation. In the meantime, involuntary servitude is strictly forbidden by the 13th Amendment. The Treasury is still collecting revenue. Under the 13th Amendment, after a prolonged shutdown, no matter what the excepted employees will ultimately have to be paid. They are not slaves. The Anti-Deficiency Act would not be able to overcome the 13th Amendment in the event of an indefinite lapse of funding. It would unconstitutional to not pay them and so, under the emergency, the President would ultimately have to pay them.

“The bottom line is the President is compelled under Article II to execute the laws. If Congress simply doesn’t pass a budget, then he will still have to carry out his responsibilities, eventually be compelled to declare an emergency, pay for the mandated functions including the employees and military since under the 13th Amendment they cannot be compelled to work without pay forever — effectively creating new contracts for the excepted employees — and operating the government on a constitutional albeit emergency basis until Congress decides not to abdicate its own constitutional responsibilities. To bridge the gap, the Treasury could tap the $7.57 trillion in intragovernmental holdings of U.S. treasuries, replenishing them once funding resumes.

“Otherwise, Congress could just overthrow the government simply through a lapse of funding. But that’s not what would happen. Just like Social Security payments continue amid the shutdown, under the emergency, the President will eventually have to define the scope of the functions Congress has already mandated must occur, including military readiness, and see to their continued implementation. Just as if Congress were somehow incapacitated in a terrorist attack, the President would still be required to continue operating the government until new elections could be held as a matter of the continuity of government on an emergency basis, and so too must the President continue the mandated functions of government in order to protect national security, prevent against an economic collapse and to fulfill constitutional responsibilities to federal employees to pay them for working in the event of a prolonged shutdown. After that, it gets even better. The question is do Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries want to find out?”

To view online: https://getliberty.org/2025/10/emergency-reductions-in-force-absent-congressional-appropriations-will-be-the-only-option-in-the-end/

Attachments:

“Going Nuclear: Democrats Are Hoping Republicans Will Irreversibly Abolish The Filibuster,” By Robert Romano, Oct. 5, 2025 at https://dailytorch.com/2025/10/going-nuclear-democrats-are-hoping-republicans-will-irreversibly-abolish-the-filibuster/

“Yet Another Poll Shows Democrats Trailing Republicans Among 2024 Voters In 2026 Midterms As Shutdown Grinds On,” Oct. 20, 2025 at https://dailytorch.com/2025/10/yet-another-poll-shows-democrats-trailing-republicans-among-2024-voters-in-2026-midterms-as-shutdown-grinds-on/

For media availability contact Americans for Limited Government at media@limitgov.org.

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Oct. 16, 2025, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) today released findings in an exposé, “Union Bosses vs. MAGA: Irreconcilably Hostile to Republicans,” revealing a deep and troubling disconnect between the political agenda of major labor union leaders and the rank-and-file members they claim to represent.

The report documents how union bosses have launched a coordinated, scorched-earth campaign against President Donald Trump and his pro-worker agenda despite widespread support for the President among working-class Americans that helped him win in 2016 and 2024 particularly in the Rust Belt, including many union members.

“This is not just political posturing, it’s a full-blown war by an elite class of union bosses against the very workers they’re supposed to serve,” said Americans for Limited Government Executive Director Robert Romano. “While President Trump fights to lower taxes, secure our borders, and protect American jobs by putting America first on trade, union leaders are wasting their members’ hard-earned dues to bankroll a radical resistance campaign against the President who has done the most in decades to support American workers.”

Key Findings from the Report Include:

• Weaponizing Union Dues to Fund Lawfare and the President’s Fiercest Opponents: The report details how unions have filed over 40 lawsuits to obstruct the administration’s agenda and funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into political contributions—with nearly 90 going to Democrats in the 2023–24 cycle. This includes support for politicians like New York AG Letitia James, who have led legal attacks against President Trump.
• Scorched-Earth Resistance from Day One: Union leaders from the AFL-CIO, SEIU, Teamsters, and UAW launched an aggressive campaign of “unremitting hostility” within hours of Trump’s re-election, escalating after his inauguration.
• Opposition to Pro-Worker Policies: Union bosses have actively fought against government reform, pro-family tax and energy policies, trade protections, and immigration enforcement – policies that have directly benefited working Americans.

“Union leadership today is irreconcilably hostile to Republicans and the Trump agenda,” Romano said. “They’re not just opposing policies, they’re funding a political machine that undermines the very workers they claim to represent. It’s time for lawmakers and the public to stand with the American worker and hold these union bosses accountable.”

The full briefing paper is available now on the Americans for Limited Government website.

Attachments:

“Union Bosses vs. MAGA: Irreconcilably Hostile to Republicans,” Americans for Limited Government, Oct. 16, 2025 at http://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Union-Bosses-vs-MAGA-Oct-2025.pdf

For media availability contact Americans for Limited Government at media@limitgov.org.

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Oct. 9, 2025, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government Executive Director Robert Romano today issued the following statement praising President Donald Trump’s brokered peace deal between Israel and Hamas that will begin with a ceasefire, the release of hostages still held in captivity and prisoner exchange:

“President Donald Trump has done the seemingly impossible to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, with the release of the remaining hostages and a prisoner exchange after two years of fighting that began on Oct. 7, 2023, when the peace was first broken. This is an historic accomplishment that, if it holds, could be the start of a new chapter of peace in the Middle East. There is nothing left to fight over, and it can all start in a new direction for the entire region, if all parties will it to be, acknowledge one another’s interests and especially Israel’s right to exist. Without that there could never be peace, but that begins with the hostages and the remains of those who were taken, who have a right to be returned to their home in Israel. From there, more steps will be taken towards what could be a new era but only if the good will that brought about this agreement and a stop to the killing can hold, with God’s grace. I believe President Trump will enforce this agreement on all parties, for he was the honest broker that made it possible, never neutral but singularly interested in stopping the killing. Peace is in every human and every country’s interest, and every person has the right to live in peace and to be left in peace.

“President Trump took a political risk that this might not work but his peace through strength is not just his work, it is the work of us all — today, he wrote, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ — and that is why he used every tool at his disposal to make this possible. He did it his way. Again, there is nothing left to fight over. Iran’s nuclear program is destroyed. Israel stands. And there are years of bitter war that can now all end, but only if the countries of the region establish diplomatic relations, adopt the Abraham Accords and recognize Israel — so that this all never happens again. Remember this moment and make it last. It is time to rebuild and forge a new path. Some of you will not know how to stop fighting but know that President Trump will enforce this agreement.”

For media availability contact Americans for Limited Government at media@limitgov.org.

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Oct. 7, 2025, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government Executive Director Robert Romano today issued the following statement urging the Senate to reopen the government:

“The expanded Obamacare premium tax credits were started during Covid in 2021 by former President Joe Biden and Congressional Democrats and were sunset for the end of 2025 in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act by President Biden and Congressional Democrats. They could have made them permanent but chose not to. They did it to themselves. It has nothing to do with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act or anything else.

“Democrats lost the House in the 2022 midterms, and so have for three years lacked the votes to extend the expansion of the health premium subsidies. Even more so after losing the Senate and White House in 2024. They simply don’t have the votes. They couldn’t expand the program further when they were in power but now expect they can get it done if they hold government funding hostage. It won’t work.

“Now, President Trump and Republicans have nonetheless offered to talk with Democrats about the subsidies. Democrats want it all plus removing the One Big Beautiful Bill’s prohibitions against illegal aliens receiving health care in exchange for three weeks of government funding. That’s a bad deal. If they want to ‘fix’ Obamacare, that’s fine, reopen the government first, forget about the illegal aliens (they’re going home and so don’t need Medicaid or insurance subsidies) and let’s open the hood and see how best to control costs for American citizens without expanding the budget deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars. But don’t expect to get everything you want, or even half of what you want. That’s not the way it works.”

Attachments:

“Going Nuclear: Democrats Are Hoping Republicans Will Irreversibly Abolish The Filibuster,” By Robert Romano, Oct. 5, 2025 at https://dailytorch.com/2025/10/going-nuclear-democrats-are-hoping-republicans-will-irreversibly-abolish-the-filibuster/

For media availability contact Americans for Limited Government at media@limitgov.org.

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Oct. 6, 2025, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government Executive Director Robert Romano today issued the following statement urging Jay Jones to drop out of the Attorney General race in Virginia:

“Democrats’ failure to condemn Jay Jones’ abominable advocacy in 2022 of assassinating the Republican leader in the Virginia House of Delegates and urge he withdraw from the Attorney General race is horrifying. This is not only disqualifying, advocacy of violence and assassinations is a dangerous and radicalizing message increasingly being sent to young people. There is only one response. Jay Jones should step down. If Jones felt comfortable enough to write this to Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner and then call her after she said to stop to wish death on the Republican leader’s children too to convince Republicans to act against gun violence — clearly an act of political intimidation — then the normalization of violence passing off as political rhetoric is reaching critical levels in our nation even among pubic officials. This is disgraceful.

“Threatening public office holders is also a crime. Under § 18.2-60 of the Code of Virginia, ‘Any person 18 years of age or older who communicates a threat in writing… to another to kill or to do serious bodily injury to any other person and makes such threat with the intent to … influence the conduct or activities of a government, including the government of the United States, a state, or a locality, through intimidation … is guilty of a Class 5 felony.’ The penalty could go up to 10 years in prison. Now, whether what Jones did meets the legal threshold for prosecution or not, he clearly went right up to the line of what is legally allowable. How can Jay Jones be Attorney General under these circumstances? This is insane.

“In 2024, following the attempted assassination of President Trump, Jay Jones wrote on X ‘Political violence has no place in our country… This should never happen under any circumstances in America.’ And advocates of political violence like Jones have no place in public office, representing Virginia or any other state, under any circumstances.

“Except apparently when power is at stake. Then, it doesn’t matter. Maybe because there’s no time to replace Jones on the ballot. But Jones clearly knows better, just read his statements about political violence. If Jones is allowed to remain in the race, the message will be that threatening violence against public officials is okay and is rewarded. Is that the right message for young people? Anyone unwilling to fully condemn threatening and intimidating public officials, and call for Jones to step down is similarly unqualified to lead the Commonwealth. How can anyone trust the legal actions of an attorney general who openly threatens and intimidates sitting members of Virginia’s legislature?

“When there is mixed government where both parties share power as in Virginia— just what the Framers of the Constitution intended — nothing much happening except for a few compromises around the edges is all that is to be expected. It’s not supposed to be easy to pass legislation or get things done. Our system is we resolve our differences with elections, not by threatening violence.”

Attachments:

Jay Jones Statements Against Political Violence

Sept. 25: “Violence in any and all forms is unacceptable in Virginia. No person working to represent their community should face death threats.” https://x.com/jonesjay/status/1971321103537799225

Sept. 10: “I’m horrified to hear the news that Charlie Kirk was shot. This is a disturbing act of violence that has no place in our communities. No matter who you are or what you believe, we must protect the freedom to speak, debate, and disagree without fear. I’m praying for Charlie and his family today.” https://x.com/jonesjay/status/1965862516065542151

July 30: “There is no place for any kind of violence or hate in Virginia.” https://x.com/jonesjay/status/1950625012383146041

July 13, 2024, the day President Trump was almost assassinated: “Political violence has no place in our country. We are lucky for the extraordinary bravery of the Secret Service and local law enforcement as they took swift action to defuse this unfortunate situation. This should never happen under any circumstances in America.” https://x.com/jonesjay/status/1812282200479469857

For media availability contact Americans for Limited Government at media@limitgov.org.

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Oct. 1, 2025, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government Executive Director Robert Romano today issued the following statement urging President Donald Trump to automate federal government functions during the government shutdown:

“Democrats are trying to cripple federal government functions in a bid to permanently expand Obamacare tax credits, give taxpayer-funded health care to millions of illegal aliens including DACA and remove the One Big Beautiful Bill’s protections against waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid. The Democratic plan would add more than $662 billion to the deficit according to the Congressional Budget Office, all in exchange for leaving the government open for just a month. Democrats should gain nothing from this foolish gambit and would be much better off passing the clean, bipartisan continuing resolution now being offered by Republicans in the Senate.

“Instead, U.S. Code Section 1341(c)(1)(D) provides that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has the power to define what emergency work is by excepted employees to keep governmental functions running. President Trump should direct OPM to automate as many of the non-sensitive functions especially mundane tasks like data entry of the furloughed government employees as can be with the use of technology including artificial intelligence-directed software on an emergency basis. Even seven years ago, the last shutdown this would not have been possible. The longest shutdown in modern history was 35 days, I bet the work of thousands could be put on autopilot in that time. What would be discovered at the end of the process was how little paper pushers were needed to carry out the business of the American people, fully justifying the inevitable reductions in force that should follow when the horse and buggy bureaucrats become obsolete. It’s time for an upgrade.”

To view online: https://getliberty.org/2025/10/president-trump-should-direct-opm-to-automate-emergency-work-systems-during-shutdown/

Attachments:

U.S. Code Section 1341(c)(1)(D): “the term ‘excepted employee’ means an excepted employee or an employee performing emergency work, as such terms are defined by the Office of Personnel Management…” https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/1341

For media availability contact Americans for Limited Government at media@limitgov.org.

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Sept. 30, 2025, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government Executive Director Robert Romano today issued the following statement urging President Donald Trump to proceed with irreversible reductions in force as soon as the partial government shutdown begins at midnight:

“Democrats have nothing that President Donald Trump needs except maybe for a government shutdown. The debt ceiling, the southern border wall, his economic program, his tax cuts and so forth were already adopted via budget reconciliation in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The only thing Republicans might be interested in from Congress after a shutdown are significant cuts to the federal workforce, which Democrats are creating a fortuitous window for with their ill-conceived, zero leverage government shutdown strategy to get health care for millions of illegal aliens. President Trump and the secretaries of each department should proceed with irreversible reductions in force during the shutdown. If the federal employees are not essential, then why should they be retained post-shutdown when Democrats finally come to their senses?”

For media availability contact Americans for Limited Government at media@limitgov.org.

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Sept. 26, 2025, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government Executive Director Robert Romano issued the following statement on the current impasse over appropriations in Congress as funding is set to run out on Sept. 30:

“In 2024, Republicans won majorities in the House, Senate and White House as President Donald Trump pulled off the single greatest political comeback in American history, and now it is time that Congress put forward appropriations that reflect the popular will of the majority. All Democrats can do is filibuster in the Senate and say no but at the end of the day, without a single chamber of Congress backing them up, they lack the leverage to move President Trump and Republicans off their fiscal position and what will otherwise be a short-term continuing resolution while appropriations committees try to get to what will likely be a year-end omnibus or else another year-long continuing resolution, effectively freezing discretionary spending at 2024 levels again.

“Democrats’ only hope is negotiation on appropriations, which is the only way a ‘new’ spending plan would be ratified by Congress under the current circumstances. A government shutdown makes continuing resolutions where nothing changes more likely to end the pause in funding when the Democrats finally buckle under the pressure, as they will. In the meantime, do Democrats really want the White House and DOGE figuring out who’s an essential employee and how big the reduction in force is going to be during the shutdown?”

For media availability contact Americans for Limited Government at media@limitgov.org.

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