We all know by now that seven Democrats and an Independent voted with the GOP to pass a continuing resolution, and re-open the government. People who know me expected me to be furious. I’ve spent days begging, cajoling, even demanding that everyone call their senators daily—NOW!—to say “no deal without full ACA funding!”

My first reaction was closer to exhaustion, but the devil is in the details. I think Democrats may have just executed a brilliant legislative jujitsu move.

I only hope they knew they were doing it…or discover it in time.

While most of the continuing resolution only funds the government through January 30th, limping us through the holidays before we’re right back here again, there are a few appropriations that extend through September 2026. The Department of Agriculture is one of them.

Since the Department of Agriculture administers SNAP, our poorest Americans won’t be held hostage when Democrats and Republicans lock horns again in February. SNAP funding won’t go on the table again until two months before the midterms. That alone is a Big Deal, but the structure and timing of this bill does much more.

The second huge win here takes a little explaining. The House, which Mike Johnson has refused to reconvene for almost two months (they’re getting paid!) will have to vote on this. Many believe Johnson’s unilateral shutdown is designed to prevent seating newly elected Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D, AZ). Once sworn in, she becomes the tie-breaking vote to advance legislation to release the Epstein files out of committee. At least until Tennessee’s December 2nd special election, where a Republican is likely (but no longer certain) to win.

Johnson will have to reconvene the House, or stand as the sole remaining obstacle to re-opening government.

It gets worse for him. Marjorie Taylor Greene says she’ll read “every damned name” from the Epstein client list, right from the floor—where she is protected from libel charges—once the House reopens. She just might do it.

But wait, there’s more! Opening the government briefly over the holidays could be the first smart move by Democrats in recent memory, if they can get the message right for once:

• the cheap imports that fuel our holidays will be hard-hit by tariffs. The connection will be bell-clear without the economic static of the shutdown.
• Claiming the shutdown forced his hand, Trump limited air travel over the busiest weekend of the year, but the air traffic controller shortage dates to DOGE. Reopening the government won’t unbreak it.
• The administration has been saying they won’t back-pay furloughed workers. This is illegal. If Trump folds, federal workers get a financial reset. If he stiffs them, the DOJ will face every attorney a very large, angry union can summon.
• One of the few demands Democrats did make was that any federal staff RIFed due to the shutdown be re-hired, with back pay, neutralizing one of Trump’s primary threats.
• Several Blue states paid SNAP during a brief window between a court order saying they should, and another staying that order. The USDA says they have to claw those payments back or face penalties, putting Blue states in a no-win position. If SNAP flows in November, there’s nothing to “correct.”
• And the related SCOTUS case becomes irrelevant, averting a likely loss, with this Court’s record.
• and of course Christmas was saved, every one.

Democrats also negotiated an entirely performative vote on the ACA. After 40 days of flatly refusing to even consider subsidizing the ACA, nobody expects the GOP will suddenly agree to fund subsidies, which expire without new legislation. With or without a continuing resolution, premiums skyrocket in January unless the GOP takes action. Even if they made a last-minute deal, next year’s plans are being chosen (or abandoned) now. It’s going to be very, very bad. There’s no silver lining: Americans are going to die.

When the parties revisit the budget in February, conditions will favor Democrats for the first time. Republican voters who steadfastly refuse to believe their premiums are about to explode will have paid (or defaulted on) their brave new bills. The GOP will have to defend their December “no” votes to constituents desperate to insure loved ones, and they won’t be able to hold SNAP voters hostage. Not until the midterms, anyway.

Here is the thing that concerns me: there are a handful of Democrats smart enough to devise such a subtle plan—Pelosi is one—but did they? Are they playing it close to the vest until Johnson stumbles into the trap? Did a few clever Democrats put together a plan even their rank and file don’t know about?

Or am I imagining a playbook they didn’t write? Perhaps I’ve missed something?

I don’t know whether the Democrats are finally playing grandmaster chess or I’m seeing a checkmate they didn’t plan, but I choose hope. It’s not a hope born of history, but of my own grim determination that surely the tides must turn in our favor now and then. It looks to me like the blue wave crested, then drew out to sea with preternatural calm, gathering strength for a tsunami next fall the likes of which we’ve not recently seen.

Controlling when the government opens and closes is real power. Serious power. Real power. Whether they planned it, or come across it as a windfall, let’s hope they wield it fiercely.

Even if the Democrats don’t snatch defeat from the jaws of victory this time, we face a battle for our nation. To use this power, the government has to shut down again, so we take this reprieve to prepare. Engage in mutual aid, build resilience and forge community. The odds just turned in our favor, so prepare for the fight of our lives.

Then call your Senator and tell them to follow your lead.

~ Shasta Willson, with permission