Ending the government shutdown is not a capitulation by Democrats, but part of an effort to ease cooperation and avoid a damaging political gridlock, infers Ezra Klein of Vox. History suggests that shutdowns hurt the party enacting them, while strengthening the president. The Democratic Party understood that going through with it would have hurt the country as a whole while achieving little. If a deal isn’t reached within three weeks, they have the possibility to do it anyway. Shutdowns are harmful and should be a last resort. Democrats are right not to use them as freely as Republicans have in the past.

Democrats lost the political gamble of shutting down the government; this result is a bad loss for them and a clear win for Republicans, believes Jim Newell of Slate. Supporters are livid with the Democratic Party, feeling that it caved far too easily over issues, such as DACA, that they hold very dear. Furthermore, Mitch McConnell’s pledge to allow debates on immigration means little as he has no obligation to follow through on it. This move highly upset Democrats in and outside of the party, as it handed Republicans a victory without putting up much of a fight. They understood that they don’t have the leverage in this situation.