Fact check: Did democrats vote against opening the government 13 times

1. How the “13 times” claim rests on procedural cloture votes and identical vote tallies, not a single omnibus bill

The factual kernel of the claim is narrow: the Senate recorded 13 failed procedural votes to advance a House-passed funding bill, and on those procedural cloture motions a majority of Senate Democrats opposed advancing that specific vehicle. News outlets report the repeated vote totals—commonly cited as 52 Republicans supporting and 43 Democrats/independents opposing—and that only a handful of Democrats crossed to vote to advance the measure on any given attempt ^{[1] [2] [3]}. This is a precise, verifiable point: it does not, by itself, mean Democrats uniformly opposed all possible offers to reopen the government, because cloture votes are specific to a given motion and bill text. Several accounts emphasize the procedural nature of these votes and that the failure number refers specifically to advancing the House bill, not the absence of any alternative proposals ^[1].

2. Multiple outlets corroborate the vote count but diverge on interpretation and emphasis

Mainstream outlets and Senate statements consistently reported 13 failed advancement votes and the cited vote margins; CBS and The Hill published numeric breakdowns and consequences like SNAP impacts ^{[2] [1]}. Republican-aligned statements and some House office releases framed the tally as proof Democrats “voted to keep the government closed,” emphasizing policy fallout and framing Democratic opposition as the proximate cause ^[4]. Democratic leaders and some Senators contextualized their opposition as objection to the bill’s content, sequencing, or lack of bipartisan concessions—arguing they were not refusing to reopen the government unconditionally but opposing a particular package they viewed as inadequate or punitive. The factual reporting of votes is consistent; the partisan framing of responsibility differs across sources ^{[5] [4]}.

3. What this tally does and does not prove about responsibility for the shutdown

The vote record proves Democrats opposed advancing that particular House-passed bill 13 times; it does not prove Democrats had no alternative plan, nor does it definitively assign sole blame for the shutdown. Senate procedure requires 60 votes to overcome filibuster-style hurdles; failing to reach 60 for a specific motion means the motion fails. Republicans had enough votes to pass the House bill in the Senate only when the party was unified; however, the Senate’s inability to pass a funding vehicle can also reflect intra-party disagreements among Republicans, negotiation breakdowns, or offers Democrats found unacceptable. Fact-checking coverage highlights that votes were on identical or similar motions and that procedural mechanics, not just partisan stubbornness, shaped outcomes ^{[2] [3]}.

4. The humanitarian and policy consequences cited by reporters give political force to the tally

Coverage tied the repeated failed votes to tangible outcomes—SNAP benefit expirations, federal worker furlough stresses, and local impacts—amplifying political stakes ^[2]. Those consequences are factual claims reported with dates showing proximity to the 13th vote attempts. Opponents of the Democrats’ position used those outcomes to argue urgency and moral responsibility; proponents of Democratic resistance argued urgency ought to be matched with acceptable policy language and protections for vulnerable populations. Both framings use the same vote record but press different policy narratives: one asserts immediate reopening via the House bill; the other conditions reopening on substantive changes or alternative bipartisan accommodations ^{[2] [5]}.

5. Bottom line: the tally is accurate; attribution of blame remains contested and contextual

The statement “Did Democrats vote against opening the government 13 times” is factually supported when defined narrowly: Senate Democrats voted against advancing that specific House-passed funding bill on 13 recorded attempts. That factual point is corroborated across contemporaneous reporting ^{[1] [2] [3]}. The broader claim—that Democrats alone “kept the government closed”—is more contested because responsibility for a shutdown involves bill content, alternative offers, Senate procedural rules, and inter- and intra-party negotiations. Readers should treat the numeric claim as accurate while recognizing partisan frames attach differing political responsibility and motives to the same voting record ^{[1] [4]}.