Gone to the break: Trump cuts funding to Democratic states
On October 1, the U.S. government suspended its work. Republicans and Democrats could not agree on a bill on its financing for the new year. Against this background, Donald Trump has already begun to cut funding to states run by representatives of the Democratic Party. The next day, one of them, California Governor Gavin Newsom, declared himself the leader of the free world and presented his own program. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Reducing funding for Democratic states
The shutdown in the United States provoked active pressure from the Republican administration on Democratic rivals, who blame them for the government shutdown. The Donald Trump administration has already frozen $26 billion for the "blue" states. The funding included $18 billion for transportation projects in New York (in particular, the freeze will affect the construction of the subway), as well as $8 billion for green energy projects in 16 states where Democrats prevail in power. California, Illinois and Hawaii are among them.
As noted by the Reuters news agency, Trump intends to use the government shutdown to punish his political opponents and expand control over the federal budget, which is about $7 trillion.
Alexandra Voitolovskaya, a senior researcher at the US Foreign and Domestic Policy Sector of the IMEMO of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted that in this way Donald Trump is trying to put pressure on the Democratic Party ahead of the midterm elections in 2026.
— Now they have a completely "red" Republican congress. It is very important to keep at least the fragile, but the majority for yourself. Meanwhile, as a rule, this does not happen. Usually, in midterm elections, more votes are cast for the party that is in opposition. Given how the Democrats are behaving, in what light Trump is trying to expose them and how they are trying to react to this, it is likely that the electorate will vote for the Republicans this time," the expert explains.
Also, according to her, pressure on the states is one of the ways to influence their governors in order to force them to cooperate on issues that Trump needs.
Yevgeny Antonov, senior lecturer at the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and a researcher at ISKRAN, believes that Trump's strategy is aimed not only at optimizing budget flows, but also at redistributing resources in favor of programs that have high political and electoral potential for the Republican Party.
US President Donald Trump
"By cutting funding, Trump is forcing the leaders of democratic states to switch to austerity or seek compromises in cooperation with the federal government, which, it seems to me, creates a certain ground for mobilizing the Republican electorate," the expert believes.
He also added that part of the reduced resources could be directed to support priority projects of Republican states and federal initiatives that strengthen the social base of Trump supporters.
The desperate situation of the Democrats
Against the background of the shutdown, the position of the Democratic Party is rapidly deteriorating. The Speaker of the House of Representatives of the American Congress, Mike Johnson (Republican), said in an interview with Fox News that she was in a desperate situation, losing voters and members: "Do you know what happened? People started to leave the party. They're losing voters. They are desperate."
According to him, the Democratic Party also began to try to compensate for the loss of voters by attracting illegal migrants as supporters.
The current problems of the Democrats began back in 2024 during the presidential campaign, after Joe Biden's withdrawal from the election race. Then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who became the new Democratic candidate, lost the election and then released a memoir in which she harshly criticized some representatives of the party and Biden himself.
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson (Republican from Louisiana) delivers a speech, standing next to member of the U.S. House of Representatives Lisa McClain (Republican from Michigan), Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives Steve Scalise (Republican from Louisiana) and the organizer of the majority faction in the U.S. House of Representatives Tom Emmer (Republican from Minnesota) for the second time The day of the partial suspension of the federal government in the U.S. Capitol building in Washington
After the elections, the Democratic Party itself recognized that it had problems, in particular, they distanced themselves from their former role as defenders of vulnerable segments of the population and did little work with the "nuclear" electorate, instead focusing their efforts on wavering Republican supporters and independent voters.
A survey published on September 25, 2025 is also indicative, according to which the level of support for the Democratic Party among Americans has reached another anti-record. He was only 30%, while 54% of respondents said they had a negative attitude towards Democrats.
The fact that the crisis of the Democratic Party is connected with the defeat in the last presidential election is also confirmed by the experts interviewed by Izvestia.
Alexandra Voitolovskaya notes that Kamala Harris was unable to get to know the voters properly in a very short period of time and, accordingly, was unable to establish herself as a future president.
According to the expert, the emphasis placed during the campaign on issues of inclusivity and minority rights also played an important role in their loss. According to Alexandra Voitolovskaya, such an agenda currently does not find a response from the majority of Americans.
American political scientist Malek Dudakov also points to the loss in the 2024 elections.
— Now, of course, they are trying to figure out where to go next. They have a very serious split between the left and the centrists, and many leftists are trying to seize the initiative," he adds.
Gavin Newsom for President
Against the backdrop of the shutdown, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared himself the leader of the free world, as White House press Secretary Caroline Levitt had previously called Trump.
On the social network X, on the page of the governor's press service, his program was also published, in which he promises universal access to healthcare, free school meals, child care, free eggs and suddenly subsidies for hair gel, "but only for beautiful Democrats."
It is noteworthy against this background that Newsom may become the candidate of the Democratic Party in the US presidential election in 2028.
— Gavin Newsom is really trying to present himself as Trump's main opponent among the Democratic leaders, and he has reason to do so, because not so long ago it was Newsom who took the initiative on the issue of redrawing districts in California. In this way, he was responding to how Republicans were redrawing their districts in Texas and creating problems for Democrats there in the upcoming elections (2024. — Izvestia), — Malek Dudakov notes.
California Governor Gavin Newsom
Alexandra Voitolovskaya also did not rule out the possibility that Newsom could become the leader among Democrats for the presidency of the United States. However, she added that they are only choosing candidates now. She also singled out Kamala Harris and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as the main contenders.
"There will be about such a top three, unless Trump and his team start drowning them in attempts to improve the rating of their potential nominees," the expert noted.
The Izvestia interlocutor also mentioned Newsom's program on the social network X and in this context pointed to Donald Trump, "who, with all his follies, nevertheless is absolutely clearly following the implementation of his election program. What he promised, he does."
Malek Dudakov also added that, according to opinion polls, Newsom is the leader among Democrats for the post of presidential candidate. Therefore, the expert believes, he has every chance to impose a fight. However, the deplorable state of California is strongly working against him. As an example, the Izvestia interlocutor cites crime, drug addiction, homelessness and the state of Los Angeles after the recent fires.
— Republicans will actively use this against him. They will say that if Newsom wins, he will turn the whole of America into "one big California," and this will be perceived extremely negatively by many Americans," says Malek Dudakov.
Alexandra Voitolovskaya pointed out that it is necessary to see how the midterm elections in the United States will be held in 2026. That's when it will be more clear what the chances are for both parties.
Evgeny Antonov added that Gavin Newsom's popularity has recently been linked to the political crisis in the United States amid the shutdown.
— His desire to position himself as the leader of the free world and the public movement indicates an attempt to form an alternative center of gravity within the Democratic Party. And all this is happening against the background of declining electoral confidence in its leadership and the internal crisis that has engulfed the party itself," the expert notes.
At the same time, Evgeny Antonov adds, it's too early to talk about Newsom's prospects in the presidential race, because the strengthening of the California governor's ratings is also due to the lack of alternative figures within the Democratic Party. According to Izvestia's interlocutor, everything will depend on his ability to mobilize new voters, rebuild a coalition around himself, use new political formats, especially in the media sphere, and, of course, generate an emotional response from the demoralized part of the democratic electorate, which, in general, has already become disillusioned with the party itself.
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