Jared Golden, a Democratic representative from Maine, stands alone among his party in the House by voting with Republicans to prevent a government shutdown.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, Golden, a centrist Marine Corps veteran representing a competitive district, has publicly criticized Democratic leadership for bowing to far-left pressures and using the shutdown to score political points against President Trump, at the expense of everyday Americans.
His vote last month supported a GOP stopgap measure to keep the government funded, a bill that passed the House but stalled in the Senate due to Democratic opposition requiring a 60-vote threshold.
Golden’s frustration boils down to what he sees as dishonest posturing, accusing his party of tying the shutdown to expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies as a way to dodge accountability for their own legislative choices in 2022 that set the expiration date.
“I’m just uncomfortable lying about the strategy to win and shutting down the government,” he stated in an interview, cutting straight to the heart of a tactic he believes betrays the Democrats’ historical stance against such brinkmanship.
While he agrees some subsidies should continue, he refuses to hold federal funding hostage over tax credits for households pulling in $300,000 a year, pointing to a deeper deficit crisis neither party seems eager to tackle.
Now in its fourth week since starting on Oct. 1, the shutdown has federal workers missing full paychecks and programs like SNAP dwindling, a reality Golden says hits his working-class district hard.
He argues that Democratic leaders aren’t leveling with voters by pinning the subsidy lapse on Republican tax laws, when both sides share blame for the current gridlock.
Golden’s stance isn’t about siding with the GOP but about rejecting a strategy that punishes ordinary folks for partisan theater, a point he drives home with unapologetic clarity.
Criticism comes at Golden from within his own ranks, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blaming Republicans for choosing a path to shutdown and refusing bipartisan talks on healthcare, a narrative Golden finds disingenuous.
“Unfortunately, Republican leadership chose a path they knew would lead to a government shutdown,” Schumer said, a statement that sidesteps the Democrats’ own role in stalling progress, leaving little room for the compromise Golden seeks.
Meanwhile, challengers in his Maine district, like Democrat Matt Dunlap and Republican Paul LePage, attack his vote as either too conciliatory or a flip-flop, with Dunlap calling the fight over subsidies a matter of “life or death” for many, a claim that rings hollow when the shutdown itself inflicts immediate harm.
Golden’s history of breaking with party orthodoxy isn’t new; he’s warned Democrats since July 2024 about losing touch on bread-and-butter issues, even as he faces a tough reelection in a district that favored Trump by nearly 10 points last year.
His willingness to shift left on issues like an assault-style weapons ban after a tragic shooting in Lewiston shows a responsiveness to local needs, a trait allies like former Rep. Max Rose praise as brave rather than calculated.
Navigating attacks from Dunlap, who paints him as weak against Trump, and LePage, who calls him a liberal in disguise, Golden frames his challengers as partisan extremists, contrasting their records with his focus on practical governance.
