Schumer’s Shutdown Gamble:Van Hollen & Alsobrooks Follow Him Off the Cliff
by Adam Schmidt
Politics is about choices. And right now, Democrats are making the worst possible one. They’re marching straight into a shutdown showdown that doesn’t merely risk short-term political pain but threatens to inflict permanent structural losses on the government programs they claim to cherish. At the front of this parade is Chuck Schumer—dragged leftward by activists who threaten him with a primary. And right behind him, dutifully following in lockstep, are Maryland’s own Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks.
The New Weapon: Shutdown as a Reset
This is not your typical government shutdown. The White House has revealed a far sharper tool. A memo from Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, instructs federal agencies that if the government closes, they are not to merely furlough workers but to prepare permanent layoffs for employees in discretionary programs that don’t align with administration priorities (PBS NewsHour).
Shutdowns used to mean inconvenience—workers sent home, then brought back when funding resumed. Not this time. This strategy transforms the shutdown into a restructuring event, providing an opportunity to permanently reduce the federal workforce. The administration already expects roughly 300,000 fewer federal employees this year (Reuters). A shutdown accelerates that mission.
Why Democrats Are on the Losing End
1. Essential Services Stay, Visible Pain Vanishes
Social Security checks will continue to be sent out. Medicare continues. Military operations, veterans’ benefits, and border security remain fully funded. The public won’t feel the bite the way they have in shutdowns past (The Guardian). The real losers will be small, discretionary programs—such as homelessness councils, legal services grants, and community development funds—programs that the left champions but the average voter barely sees.
2. Narrative Control Belongs to the GOP
Trump and his allies are already framing the crisis: Democrats are the ones demanding a shutdown, insisting on $450 billion in extra Obamacare subsidies, reversing Medicaid reforms, and lifting Trump’s spending hold. The House has already passed a continuing resolution over Democratic opposition, leaving Schumer and Senate Democrats as the choke point (Politico).
Schumer insists firings would be overturned in court, while Jeffries warns of “mass layoffs.” Neither message is reassuring. Meanwhile, the administration is projecting calm: they’ll keep essentials running, while Democrats fight over ideology.
3. Schumer’s Fear of the Left
Back in March, Schumer admitted the truth: a shutdown would be a “gift” to the White House, handing Russell Vought the “keys to the city” (Washington Post). He was right then. But he caved to left-wing pressure after activists blasted him for funding the government. Calls for a primary challenge followed. Now, facing the wrath of his base, Schumer has thrown his lot in with the radicals—even though he knows the outcome is catastrophic.
Maryland Democrats Following Along
Here’s where Maryland enters the picture. Senator Chris Van Hollen and Senator-turned-candidate Angela Alsobrooks have lined up firmly behind Schumer. Neither has offered a serious alternative to this disastrous course of shutdown. Instead, they echo the party line: resist Trump at all costs, even if that means empowering him to slash the very programs they claim to defend.
Van Hollen, who likes to cast himself as a budget hawk and progressive conscience, has publicly backed Schumer’s hard line, warning that Republicans are “trying to hold health care hostage.” Alsobrooks, eager to prove her loyalty to the Senate leadership as Maryland’s junior senator, has also hit the same notes—painting the showdown as a moral stand, even though the practical effects will devastate federal employees in her own state, many of whom live in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties.
Maryland, more than most states, depends on federal employment and contracting. A shutdown with mass firings doesn’t just hurt abstract “programs”—it strikes at the heart of Maryland’s workforce. Yet Van Hollen and Alsobrooks would rather follow Schumer into the fire than admit the obvious: this is a losing fight.
How Democrats Actually Lose
Permanent program losses. Once staff are laid off and offices shuttered, it will be almost impossible to rebuild. Court challenges come too late.
Public opinion cuts the other way. Voters will still see Medicare, Social Security, and the military continue to function. Democrats can’t rally sympathy for obscure agencies they failed to defend legislatively.
No clear endgame. Democrats are demanding the impossible: $450 billion in new ACA funding and a reversal of Medicaid reforms. Republicans won’t give that. With no fallback, Democrats look unreasonable.
Internal fractures. Senators in swing states will get cold feet, but Schumer, Van Hollen, and Alsobrooks have boxed themselves by siding with the radicals.
The Maryland Political Fallout
For Maryland Democrats, this could be particularly damaging. Voters in Montgomery, Prince George’s, and Anne Arundel counties know what shutdowns mean—families missing paychecks, contracts delayed, projects stalled. If those jobs turn into permanent losses, Van Hollen and Alsobrooks will have to explain why they chose Schumer’s political survival over Maryland’s livelihoods.
Alsobrooks, still trying to establish herself on the national stage, risks being remembered not for her independence but for her obedience. Van Hollen, who once prided himself on pragmatic dealmaking, now looks more like Schumer’s echo than Maryland’s advocate.
The Bottom Line
The tragedy here is not just a political structure. Democrats like Schumer, Van Hollen, and Alsobrooks are gambling with the very institutions they claim to protect. By demanding the impossible, they risk handing Trump exactly what he wants: a leaner government, fewer bureaucrats, and an administration free to rebuild the federal workforce in its own image.
If they truly cared about preserving government, they would negotiate a narrow deal, protect core programs, and avoid a shutdown that reshapes Washington permanently. Instead, they’re following Schumer into the abyss—Maryland Democrats included.
And when the dust settles, they won’t be able to blame Trump. They’ll have to explain to their own constituents why they willingly chose to hand him the weapon.
Sources: PBS NewsHour, Washington Post, Reuters, Politico, The Guardian, Federal News Network.
Aaron Ackerman is a contributor to Direct Line News. He can be contacted at Aaron.Ackerman@mcgopclub.com