Fact check: How many times has the democrat party voted to not open the government

1. What the claims actually say and why they matter — ripping the headline open

Multiple reports state plainly that Senate Democrats have voted to block a House-passed bill to reopen the government 13 times as of an October 28 Senate vote that failed 54–45, falling short of the 60 votes needed to advance floor consideration ^[1]. Coverage by national outlets frames these roll calls as repeated procedural defeats of House funding measures, with Senate Democrats largely unified in opposition except for a few crossover votes. These counts matter because they are the raw evidence used by political actors to assign responsibility for the shutdown’s continuation, and because procedural thresholds in the Senate (the 60-vote cloture rule) define how many “votes” are necessary to move a CR, making the tally as much about Senate rules as about party intent ^{[1] [5]}.

2. The timeline and how different outlets count “times” differently — follow the calendar and the counting rules

Reporting reveals a timeline with an evolution: mid-October reporting identified a block described as the 10th rejection of a stopgap spending bill, while late-October pieces describe the October 28 tally as the 13th time Democrats blocked a House measure; by October 30 journalists were already discussing a possible 14th vote planned or unplanned in the Senate ^{[3] [1] [2]}. Discrepancies arise from which distinct House-passed measures are counted separately, whether amendments or separate cloture motions are logged as new “times,” and whether state-specific or targeted funding amendments are included. These differences explain why Republicans emphasize a higher count to underscore Democratic obstruction while Democrats point to the content and alternatives they offered as qualifying context ^{[4] [6]}.

3. Competing narratives from both sides — responsibility, tactics, and public messaging

Republican statements frame the sequence as Democrats repeatedly voting to keep the government closed until Democrats agree to pass the House bill, asserting “13” or more failures as a tally of Democratic obstruction ^{[4] [1]}. Democrats and allied coverage emphasize that they voted against a specific House-passed package because it did not address priorities such as health care or SNAP/WIC funding, and that Democrats proposed alternative funding measures for targeted programs which Republicans rejected or blocked procedurally ^{[6] [2]}. These competing frames reflect strategic messaging aims: Republicans seek a simple numeric blame line; Democrats focus on policy content and alternative votes to portray their opposition as substantive rather than purely obstructionist ^{[1] [6]}.

4. What the vote tallies actually show and where ambiguity remains — reading the roll calls

Roll-call outcomes cited show a consistent pattern: individual cloture votes on House-passed continuing resolutions failed to reach the 60-vote threshold, with one reported tally at 54–45 on October 28 and earlier tallies in mid-October reported as failing 51–45 or similar margins depending on the vote counted ^{[1] [3] [5]}. The Senate’s procedural architecture — multiple cloture motions, separate amendment votes, and serial House bills with different text — creates ambiguity about whether each defeated cloture is a distinct “time” Democrats voted to not open government or variations on a single negotiating episode. That ambiguity is the reason newsrooms and politicians may report different totals while referencing the same set of Senate actions ^{[1] [3]}.

5. The bigger picture and omitted context — stakes, timing, and what’s left out of the count

Reporting notes that SNAP and WIC funding deadlines and other program expirations factored into Democrats’ legislative priorities, and that targeted Democratic proposals to fund specific benefits were described as rejected or blocked, complicating a binary “for/against reopening” narrative ^{[6] [2]}. Coverage also highlights Senate leaders saying negotiations have “ticked up,” signaling ongoing talks despite repeated failed roll calls; this shows that counting votes alone omits negotiation dynamics and interim offers that don’t reach a roll call ^{[6] [2]}. The numeric claim that Democrats voted to “not open the government” 13 times is supported by multiple reports but must be read alongside procedural nuance, alternative Democratic proposals, and evolving negotiation efforts that sources document across October 2025 ^{[1] [2]}.