LOGAN – If you think that the federal government is reopening because congressional lawmakers have finally seen the sweet light of reason, U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) has a bridge in Brooklyn he’d like to sell to you.
In his latest report to 1st District voters, Moore provided a peak behind the veil of political theatrics involved in the moves that began in the Senate on Nov. 10 and will likely end the longest government in U.S. history later this week.
“This recent (Senate) measure to fund the government reached a 60-40 split,” he explained. “I want to dispel the notion that this is in any way a coincidence. In fact, any time a bill passes by the exact number (of votes) it needs to pass, it is entirely a manipulation.”
The 40-plus day federal shutdown began on Oct. 1, after the Democratic caucus in the Senate voted down a House-passed continuing resolution that would have averted the ongoing budget crisis.
After multiple stalemated floor votes in the Senate during October and early November, eight Democrats finally voted with the Republican majority in the Senate to end the impasse on Nov. 10.
Moore says that sudden change of heart was motivated by politics, however, not principle.
This legislation that was finally approved by the Senate includes the passage of three of the 12 congressional appropriations bills needed for 2026, while extending the deadline for completing the remaining nine bills through January 30.
“As you likely know,” Moore wrote to his constituents, “the U.S. Senate requires a ‘yes’ vote from 60 senators to pass most legislation. Right now, there are 53 Republican senators and 47 senators who caucus with the Democrats. The funding bill had to be a bipartisan effort to reach that 60-vote threshold.”
He adds that while eight Democrats did the sensible thing by joining all but one Republicans to reopen the government, 39 still voted against that legislation.
“Most of those 39 who voted ‘no’ absolutely believe we should fund the government,” Moore argues. “They also know that they are never going to get their unreasonable demands (which included billions of dollars in medical benefits for illegal aliens).
“Behind closed doors, they are thanking the eight who voted to break the filibuster. They are glad those eight were willing to take the criticism (from their base) so they don’t have to.”
The eight senators who voted to reopen the government were specifically chosen by their colleagues to do so because they are either from states President Donald Trump handily won in the last election or are not up for re-election until 2028 or 2030, when their vote will be long forgotten, according to Moore.
“Chuck Schumer (the Democratic majority leader in the Senate) was so terrified of doing the right thing,” Moore emphasizes, “that he voted ‘no’ and then feigned outrage at something he knew was inevitable.”
The worst part of all, he added, is that Republicans do the same thing when the situation is reversed.
Moore acknowledged that he is glad that the federal shutdown is nearly over and that some 31,000 federal workers living in his 1st Congressional District will now receive the compensation they deserve.
“But it is still frustrating to see that so many double standards abound in Washington politics,” he concluded.