‘All for Nothing’: Vance Blasts Dems Over Shutdown Deal
Vice President J.D. Vance sharply criticized Democrats in an interview on Thursday night, accusing them of “inflicting pain on Americans all for nothing” after Congress voted to reopen the federal government following the longest shutdown in U.S. history. Speaking on Fox News’ “Hannity,” Vance said the 43-day shutdown — which ended after President Donald Trump signed a short-term funding bill on Wednesday — exposed how far the far-left wing of the Democratic Party was willing to go in its opposition to the administration.
“Here’s what the Democrats actually accomplished,” Vance said. “They caused a lot of stress for our troops. They made our air traffic controllers not get paid. They caused flight cancellations. They made families think they wouldn’t get their food benefits. All for literally nothing.”
Vance argued that Democrats’ real motivation was not fiscal policy, but political sabotage. “They don’t care if the troops don’t get paid. They don’t care if they shut down the airline industry,” he said. “They don’t care if they have to burn the entire country down in order to get Trump.”
The vice president said the final agreement that reopened the government was identical to one Democrats had rejected six weeks earlier.
“We could have struck this exact deal 45 days ago,” Vance said. “In fact, we met with Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer and said we will pass this exact deal. They said no.”
Vance said that moderate Democrats privately admitted their party’s strategy was “crazy” but were afraid to challenge the far-left faction.
“They all feel a little bit like they’re being held hostage,” he said, adding that several Democratic senators had worked quietly with the administration to broker the final deal.”
.@JDVance torches Democrats over the shutdown chaos, saying Americans were hurt “for nothing”:
— Sean Hannity 🇺🇸 (@seanhannity) November 14, 2025
SEAN: The government is open. Longest shutdown in history. Can you tell me what the point of all that was?
VANCE: I wish that I knew, Sean, because here’s what the Democrats actually… pic.twitter.com/tDitHtifSm
The legislation passed the House in a 222–209 vote, with six Democrats joining Republicans to support the measure. Trump called the deal “a clear message that we will never give in to extortion,” blaming Democrats for “trying to hold the country hostage.”
Vance praised the president’s resolve, saying Trump “knew this was going to happen” and had warned that Democrats would eventually have to back down.
“The president said every day that eventually Democrats were going to realize this was an absurd position, and that’s what they did,” he said.
The vice president also predicted the standoff would have lasting political consequences, particularly for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), whom he said had “ended his own career” by embracing a failed strategy.
“This was politically stupid. It was a huge mistake,” Vance said. “The American people saw through it.”
According to Vance, the shutdown exposed what he called a fundamental difference in priorities between the two parties.
“We care about Americans. They care about illegal aliens,” he said. “They made that super clear with this government shutdown fight.”
Republicans have framed the end of the shutdown as a vindication of Trump’s approach, pointing out that the final package included no new spending increases or policy concessions to Democrats. The White House also touted that the measure restores pay for furloughed federal employees and stabilizes food programs affected by the lapse in funding.
Vance’s remarks come as the administration begins efforts to repair the economic damage caused by the six-week shutdown. Air travel disruptions, delayed federal contracts, and paused infrastructure projects have been estimated to cost the economy billions of dollars in lost productivity.
Despite the criticism from the left, Vance said the administration was focused on “moving forward,” crediting the president’s leadership for breaking the impasse.
“The Democrats thought they could score political points by hurting the country,” he said. “Instead, they hurt themselves. And the American people won’t forget that.”
