MEHEK COOKE: Democrats’ Shutdown Misplay Gives Trump Rare Opportunity

As the shutdown continues, this is not the usual partisan stalemate but a rare opportunity for President Donald Trump to deliver real results for the American people.

He’s cutting decades of bureaucratic waste, fraud, and abuse that drained taxpayers. While critics call it chaos, Trump is finishing what Elon Musk began with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), turning crisis into a chance to make Washington accountable. (RELATED: JD FOSTER: Buckle Up, America. The Shutdown Fight Appears To Be Far From Over.)

After Trump’s executive order, Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy brought a private-sector lens, treating the federal government like a bloated startup in need of a restart.

The team aimed to cut $2 trillion in spending through AI-driven audits, zero-based budgeting and relentless waste reduction. Ramaswamy later stepped away, but DOGE continued to move fast to expose inefficiencies from DEI programs to redundant grants delivering $160 billion in savings, eliminating $255 million by canceling 269 contracts, all documented on the “Wall of Receipts” at doge.gov.

As expected for anyone bold enough to challenge Washington’s status quo, Musk faced fierce resistance from entrenched bureaucrats and lawsuits that slowed access to records. Regardless, DOGE secured a Supreme Court victory to data allowing them to expose hidden waste and fraud. (RELATED: DAVID BOSSIE: GOP Shouldn’t Give An Inch To Democrats In Shutdown Fight)

When Musk stepped down in May 2025, he admitted, “I think we’ve been effective. Not as effective as I’d like.” Despite deep-state obstruction, his leadership saved an estimated $175 billion by canceling wasteful contracts, dismantling parts of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and uncovering improper payments, saving about $1,086.96 for every taxpayer.

Now, Trump 2.0 is to finish the job and using the shutdown to cement DOGE’s reforms and bypass the congressional gridlock that stalled Musk. As Democrats block a clean funding bill while demanding billions for illegal immigrant healthcare, Trump is seizing the moment for the American people. Russ Vought is enforcing Trump’s Workforce Optimization Initiative, cutting four federal workers for every one hired, a policy that’s already led to thousands of separations.

Trump also extended the federal hiring freeze for 90 days, exempting military, national security and law enforcement, while keeping it firmly in place for the Internal Revenue Service, an agency he calls weaponized for targeting everyday Americans while ignoring the elite.

Momentum is on Trump’s side. The administration has begun layoffs for more than 4,100 non-essential employees across agencies including Health and Human Services and Commerce. Vought confirmed that RIF notices are accelerating, with additional cuts expected to reach 10,000 if the shutdown continues.

Although a Clinton-appointed judge temporarily blocked the effort, the administration is moving forward with eliminations in competitive areas not covered by union injunctions. An appeal is already in motion, and the case is expected to reach the Supreme Court. SCOTUS paved the way in July 2025 when it allowed broad federal layoffs to proceed under Trump’s executive order, a precedent that now strengthens his position.

President Trump has consistently directed his administration to review and reform “Democrat agencies” that have become political operations. Long before the shutdown, his administration began implementing cuts through RIFs across agencies that diverted taxpayer dollars into DEI programs and wasteful grants such as Education, Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

As the shutdown continues, Trump is expanding his efforts to target waste across blue-state projects and redirecting taxpayer dollars toward national priorities. He froze $26 billion in blue-state pet projects, including $8 billion for California’s green-energy subsidies and $11 billion for Democrat-city infrastructure, while restoring $187 million in law-enforcement funding in New York after bipartisan pushback proving targeted cuts work.

President Trump has turned the shutdown into DOGE on steroids by exempting essential staff to keep efficiency reforms moving. By tying the Democrat shutdown to Musk’s DOGE legacy, Trump is advancing irreversible reforms that fulfill the 2024 mandate to restore accountability in Washington.

As we look back at history, no other president has shown the vision to create real government efficiency. Clinton’s 27-day shutdown over spending cuts ended with the same Washington status quo — more spending, not reform. Obama’s 16-day shutdown in 2013 over Obamacare funding led to furloughs, back pay and zero structural change. Obama himself admitted, “there are no winners.”

Even Trump’s 35-day standoff in 2018–2019 over border security was an impasse with just $1.375 billion for 55 miles of fencing, barely enough to start the wall let alone address reforms in Washington.

For decades, the same blame game preserved the status quo. But this time, Trump has flipped the script and he’s finishing the job.

Critics argue his actions are an overreach that threaten Congress’s power of the purse, but the rule of law favors the president. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 empowers presidents to defer non-essential spending, and the Rescissions Act of 2025 codified DOGE’s authority to enforce those cuts. The Supreme Court affirmed that authority in a 6–3 decision on September 26, allowing the administration to withhold $4 billion in foreign aid. The Constitution’s Take Care Clause demands the faithful execution of laws—not blind approval of waste.

The Democrat shutdown is backfiring. As they fight to fund illegal immigrant subsidies while refusing to support our military, they are revealing exactly who they are—America last. Hardworking Americans, from Ohio small businesses to Texas farms are watching this shutdown expose Democrats’ hypocrisy while highlighting President Trump’s unapologetic America First principles.

If Republicans stay united and continue fighting for the American worker, this shutdown will end the dysfunction in Washington and redefine it for generations to come.

Mehek Cooke, an attorney and political strategist, was a surrogate for the Trump for President Campaign and the Republican National Convention.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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