The federal government reopened on Nov. 12 after 43 days of being shut down since Oct. 1. 

After a 60-40 vote in the Senate on Nov. 10, the Senate passed a resolution ending the government shutdown. The resolution was sent to the House of Representatives. The House voted 222-209 and the resolution was later signed by President Donald Trump, ending the longest government shutdown in United States history.  

Are we serious right now? The American people are struggling, and it took 43 days to reopen the government? 

As Trump signed the bill reopening the government, he celebrated with joy.  

“People were hurt so badly,” Trump said. 

This is fantastic news for the millions of families struggling to survive in this “great” country. However, to state willingly that “people were hurt so badly” is a direct reflection of lack of accountability. The execution is the worst in U.S. history, and history books will remember Trumps negative legacy. 

As future scholars, we must recognize this behavior and shut it down before it gets out of hand.  

According to the American Federation of Government Employees, there are roughly 1.4 million federal workers all expected to work without pay.  

Nearly 42 million Americans relying on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits: all of them left in limbo.  

According to the Vanderbilt University Office of Financial Aid, nearly 25% of undergraduate students rely on the Pell grant. This means many students on campus potentially have families at home relying on said benefits. Proportionally, these include first-generation students and those from underserved communities. Vanderbilt students: We must fight back on this abuse of executive power.  

I ask my fellow students: How many of your friends and relatives work for the federal government? How many of them were left without income for weeks on end? Trump is never on your side. You must take this government shutdown as a sign of his priorities — not you.  

We must begin to think analytically and truthfully. Do you really think Trump cares that hard-working Americans lost income and struggled for weeks? 

After taking all the credit, like Trump tends to do, of reopening the federal government, he said, “When we come up to midterms and other things, don’t forget what [the Democrats have] done to our country.”  

President Trump — you are absolutely correct. I hope my fellow Vanderbilt community remembers this situation and strips you of your desired reign over this country. Democracy will always prevail, and you will go down as the worst president in American history.  

“[The Democrats] did it purely for political reasons,” Trump said in the Oval Office. 

Let’s talk basic politics. A filibuster in the Senate can only be ended by having a supermajority, 60 total votes, in order to proceed with voting procedures and send it off to the House. The reason the government shut down is because Republicans and Democrats could not agree on a spending package to allocate funding going into the new fiscal quarter.  

On one hand, Democrats are here to serve the American people. Although they did hold off on voting with Republicans to reopen the government, their point stood clear: Protect health care for the everyday American.  

As a student who relies on health insurance directly from the university, wondering whether or not any coverage in an already limited plan will change is a daunting thought. No student, or person at that, should have to worry about their access to health care.  

Republicans have shown a disinterest in serving the American people, which includes Vanderbilt students, time and time again.  

The premium tax credit, which helped millions of families pay for health care premiums as part of the Affordable Care Act, will expire. Millions of Americans will now have their health insurance costs doubled, according to a study and analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides health policy information and analysis.  

This is problematic for Vanderbilt students and a much greater issue across the country.  

In hindsight, Trump is powerless. It’s about time we, as a community, realized it. People were hurt because of Trump and his party. There is no one else to blame. “Make America Great Again!” is a joke. Life under a Republican shutdown is miserable and anxiety-producing for all Americans.  

We are at a time in our lives where we must fight back to potential authoritarian rule. We, as a Vanderbilt community, are changemakers in this divided world. 

The next time lawmakers will need to vote on a new spending bill is by the end of January. Without a new health care package to debate on the congressional floor, the government will probably be shut down again, all thanks to lousy Republicans.  

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, truly demonstrated the Republican party’s growing disloyalty to the president. It did not take Greene long to quickly break from her party in an early October X post, citing concerns with health care costs for her children.  

“I’m going to go against everyone on this issue because when the tax credits expire this year my own adult children’s insurance premiums for 2026 are going to DOUBLE, along with all the wonderful families and hard-working people in my district.” 

In a Nov. 2 interview with ABC News, Greene, aligned with democratic lawmakers, urged all lawmakers to work together to pay our federal workers.  

“I want all federal employees to be paid,” Greene said. “I want all the programs to be funded. That is our job, all of us together, Republicans and Democrats, in the House and the Senate.” 

Even House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries cited Greene as a strong ally in protecting a common interest of the American people.  

These are perfect examples of two opposing political figures working together to fight back. As one student body, we must not be afraid to be different. Leadership through a crumbling political system is the only way out. Who will the be the next leader on campus?  

This government shutdown was entirely Trump’s fault, and the American people should not have to pay the price, especially not the greater Vanderbilt community.  

As former Vice President Kamala Harris said, “When we fight, we win. Sometimes, the fight takes a little while –– that doesn’t mean we won’t win.”  

As a Vanderbilt community, when we learn to stand proudly together as one unit, our possibilities are endless. Student organizations such as Vanderbilt College Democrats, Indivisible Vandy and so many others work tirelessly to ensure the Vanderbilt community has access to resources during such a troubling political time.  

Find your voice on campus and use it proudly. This government shutdown should only be a small piece of a consequential puzzle in politics. To the Vanderbilt community: Let’s fight together, let democracy prevail and restore the true meaning of the Constitution of the United States of America.