• Polling

Americans want the shutdown to end, but not if it means leaving millions without health care

Friday, October 10, 2025 By Erica Seifert, Rachael Russell, Ian Smith, Maryann Cousens & Camille Keene

Poll: Shutdown

TOPLINES | GRAPHS

This Navigator Research report covers the latest on how to talk about the shutdown fight.

BIG TAKEAWAYS:

  • Americans want the shutdown to end, but not if it means compromising on health care.
  • Stopping cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act are the top priority for Democrats, independents, and shutdown persuadables.
  • Messaging increases the perception that Republicans are culpable for the shutdown.

Shutdown Context: Republicans Start With More Culpability

As a reminder: Americans start with the perception that Republicans bear more blame in the current shutdown debate. By a 13-point margin, Americans blame Republicans more for the current government shutdown (45 percent Trump and Republicans in Congress – 32 percent Democrats in Congress). Effective messaging increases this perception.

Bar charts from Navigator Research. Title: Building the Case Against Republicans on the Shutdown

Who: Trump and Republicans

When asked who has tried to keep the government open and who has tried to shut the government down, both parties in Congress perform fairly equally. By a 3-point margin, Americans believe that Democrats in Congress have tried to keep the government open. By a 2-point margin, they believe that Republicans in Congress have tried to shut it down. Independents rate each party about evenly. However, by 8 points, Americans say Donald Trump has tried to shut the government down. As a result, effective messaging should tie the shutdown to Trump.

Bar chart from Navigator Research. Title: Americans Divided on Who Is Trying to Keep the Government Open; Democrats Seen Doing Slightly More to Do So Than GOP

What: Health Care

Health care cuts and higher health costs are the most concerning on Trump and Republicans’ approach to the shutdown.

  • Trump and Republicans in Congress are using a government shutdown to try to force through their budget which includes massive cuts to programs like Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. This budget will double health care costs for millions of Americans and kick millions off of their health care – all to pay for Republicans’ massive new tax breaks for the rich and big corporations (47 percent find this extremely concerning, 62 percent say it is concerning overall); and,
  • Trump and Republicans in Congress are using a government shutdown to try to force through their budget which includes massive cuts to programs like Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. This budget will double health care costs for millions of Americans and kick millions off of their health care (46 percent find this extremely concerning, 59 percent say it is concerning overall).

Importantly, health care message framing dramatically shifts the context of the shutdown for Americans.

Bar charts from Navigator Research. Title: Health Care Cuts and Higher Health Care Costs Are Most Concerning on Trump and GOP Approach to Shutdown

Why? To Pay for Tax Breaks for the Wealthy

The most effective attacks against Republicans in Congress emphasize that Trump and Republicans in Congress refuse to compromise on health care costs so that they can pay for tax breaks for the wealthy.

Trump and Republicans in Congress are to blame for the shutdown because they refuse to compromise and won’t pass a budget unless it takes away health care to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy. After they already cut Medicaid, they’re now trying to take away the tax credits millions use to pay for health care.

Trump and Republicans in Congress are using a government shutdown to try to force through their budget which includes massive cuts to programs like Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. This budget will double health care costs for millions of Americans and kick millions off of their health care – all to pay for Republicans’ massive new tax breaks for the rich and big corporations.

Bar charts from Navigator Research. Title: Arguments Blaming GOP for Shutdown Are Persuasive, Whether Focused on GOP Majority or Their Plans to Cut Health Care

As our MAHA research shows, the current health care system is already expensive and inaccessible for people. Raising costs will add to the existing problems.

Trump and Republicans’ budget would more than double health care costs for 22 million Americans. Democrats say health care costs have already been skyrocketing, and so they are doing everything they can to stop health care costs from rising even more, at a time when tariffs are already driving up costs.

Why They Are Responsible

Finally, it’s critical to remind Americans that Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are fully in charge of the government. By a 16-point margin, Americans believe that Donald Trump and Republicans are responsible for the shutdown because they are fully in charge of the government, compared to Democrats who refuse to compromise. Independents believe this by a 30-point margin.

Bar charts from Navigator Research. Title: Highlighting Democrats’ Efforts to Protect Health Care Are Compelling Against GOP Spending Criticisms

The Result: Republicans Even More to Blame

After messaging on both sides, Americans move from blaming Donald Trump and Republicans by 13 points to blaming them for the shutdown by 17 points.

Bar charts from Navigator Research. Title: Highlighting Republicans’ Chaos & Broad Spending Cuts Is Less Persuasive Than Direct, Focused Hits on Health Care

Read More

Focus Group Report: MAHA Curious

Focus Groups report on “MAHA-Curious” Americans* on the state of the health and wellness in the country today, including where they look to for information and how they assess the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement.

Government shutdown: a guide for advocates

Polling report on awareness of and blame for the government shutdown.

Feeling the pressure of rising grocery costs Battleground voters lay the blame on Trump and Republicans in Congress

Polling report on perceptions of tariffs in the House battleground.

About The Study

Global Strategy Group conducted a public opinion survey among a sample of 1,000 registered voters from October 2-October 5, 2025. The survey was conducted online, recruiting respondents from an opt-in online panel vendor. Respondents were verified against a voter file and special care was taken to ensure the demographic composition of our sample matched that of the national registered voter population across a variety of demographic variables. The margin of error for the full sample at the 95 percent level of confidence is +/- 3.1 percentage points. The margin of error for subgroups varies and is higher.

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About Navigator

In a world where the news cycle is the length of a tweet, our leaders often lack the real-time public-sentiment analysis to shape the best approaches to talking about the issues that matter the most. Navigator is designed to act as a consistent, flexible, responsive tool to inform policy debates by conducting research and reliable guidance to inform allies, elected leaders, and the press. Navigator is a project led by pollsters from Global Strategy Group and GBAO along with an advisory committee, including: Andrea Purse, progressive strategist; Arkadi Gerney, The Hub Project; Joel Payne, The Hub Project; Christina Reynolds, EMILY’s List; Delvone Michael, Working Families; Felicia Wong, Roosevelt Institute; Mike Podhorzer, AFL-CIO; Jesse Ferguson, progressive strategist; Navin Nayak, Center for American Progress Action Fund; Stephanie Valencia, EquisLabs; and Melanie Newman, Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

For press inquiries contact: press@navigatorresearch.org