How Government Shutdowns Contribute to Political Radicalization

Republicans did not derail the implementation of Obamacare when the GOP shut down the government in 2013. Democrats did not force Republicans to write Barack Obama’s deferred deportation schedule for so-called Dreamers when they shut down the government in early 2018. Donald Trump did not win funding for a border wall during the shutdown that was previously America’s longest in the winter of 2018–2019. And, with this year’s shutdown, the Democrats did not secure the restoration of the Obamacare subsidies they themselves sunset back in 2022.

You would think that this record of failure might stand as a warning to the lawmakers who seem to regard government shutdowns as useful political tools. If they have learned from past failures, they don’t seem to have the stomach to explain this to their core constituents. Shutdowns are not just reckless and typically ineffectual on their own terms; they contribute to the radicalization of America’s political fringes.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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Republicans did not derail the implementation of Obamacare when the GOP shut down the government in 2013. Democrats did not force Republicans to write Barack Obama’s deferred deportation schedule for so-called Dreamers when they shut down the government in early 2018. Donald Trump did not win funding for a border wall during the shutdown that was previously America’s longest in the winter of 2018–2019. And, with this year’s shutdown, the Democrats did not secure the restoration of the Obamacare subsidies they themselves sunset back in 2022.

You would think that this record of failure might stand as a warning to the lawmakers who seem to regard government shutdowns as useful political tools. If they have learned from past failures, they don’t seem to have the stomach to explain this to their core constituents. Shutdowns are not just reckless and typically ineffectual on their own terms; they contribute to the radicalization of America’s political fringes.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.