The lone House Democrat who thinks his party has the shutdown all wrong
Maine’s Jared Golden said his party is being pushed in the wrong direction by far-left groups.
BANGOR, Maine—Democratic Rep. Jared Golden didn’t just side with Republicans in the House’s vote to avoid the government shutdown. He said they were right in their central criticism of his party’s stance.
The House passed the GOP’s stopgap measure last month, but it has been blocked by Democrats in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed to advance most legislation. As the lone House Democrat to back the bill, Golden argues his party’s healthcare demands and the government shutdown are totally separate issues—and that Democrats shouldn’t be using the shutdown as leverage.
“What they’re doing is wrong," said Golden in a recent interview.
A tattooed Marine Corps veteran, Golden doesn’t look or sound like most rank-and-file Democrats. The 43-year-old centrist, who represents one of the most competitive House districts in the country, in recent years has broken with Democrats on politically sticky issues such as transgender medical care and a GOP-led bill that requires proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.
His vote to keep the government funded wasn’t a big surprise, but his commentary afterward made waves. In a statement on the first day of the shutdown, he accused Democratic leaders of falling prey to the demands of “far-left groups" who wanted them to “put on a show of their opposition to President Trump" while hurting Americans in the process.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) has demanded bipartisan negotiations to extend expiring Affordable Care Act healthcare subsidies before Democrats will vote to reopen the government. Republican leaders say Democrats needed to help reopen the government first and then turn to any talks.
In the interview, Golden said that his working-class constituents are suffering due to the shutdown, and that fellow Democrats aren’t being straight with voters by tying the expiration in ACA subsidies to Republicans’ “big, beautiful" tax law. Golden voted with his party in opposing that measure, which included tax cuts and reduced Medicaid spending, while not extending ACA credits. But he noted that the Democrats’ own legislation in 2022 had set this year for the subsidies to end.
“I’m just uncomfortable lying about the strategy to win and shutting down the government. We’ve never been the party that does that," he said.
He has also said that while he would like to see some ACA subsidies extended, he believes that GOP concerns about ending tax credits for high-income households would be a good starting point for negotiations. Informal talks between rank-and-file members of the Senate have focused on some sort of short-term extension for the subsidies, with new income caps and rules to prevent fraud.
“I’m not willing to shut down the government over healthcare subsidies for households making $300,000," Golden said. “I think we have a deficit problem in this country that neither party is showing any ability or political will to address."
The shutdown started Oct. 1 and is now in its fourth week, with federal workers starting to miss full paychecks and aid programs like SNAP running low on funds. The GOP has refused to budge and Democratic leaders haven’t shifted course either.
Asked about Golden’s comments, Schumer in a statement blamed Republicans: “Unfortunately, Republican leadership chose a path they knew would lead to a government shutdown and so far have refused to negotiate a bipartisan deal that would address the healthcare crisis, and find a path forward to reopen the government."
Criticizing the party isn’t new to Golden. He penned an opinion article in July 2024 warning that Democrats were failing to connect on kitchen table issues that are important to voters and predicted Trump would defeat then-candidate Joe Biden.
Democratic strategists say House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) has a good relationship with centrists and has given them space to vote their districts. Golden said he doesn’t regret his vote for Jeffries to lead House Democrats despite their opposing stances on the shutdown. He cites liberal groups such as Indivisible and progressive lawmakers Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) for uniting the party behind the shutdown strategy.
A spokeswoman for Jeffries declined to comment. In comments Friday, Jeffries said Republicans gave priority to tax relief for the wealthy and cuts to Medicaid, and “have zero interest in actually extending Affordable Care Act tax credits that benefit working families."
Golden is taking his stance ahead of another tough election fight, this time facing challenges from both the left and the right to represent Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, which backed Trump over eventual Democratic nominee Kamala Harris by nearly 10 percentage points last year.
Democrat Matt Dunlap, Maine’s state auditor, recently launched a primary challenge, arguing that the government spending fight is part of a string of examples in which Golden failed to stand up to Trump.
“I do think this is a fight worth having," said Dunlap in an interview. He said he found it “baffling" that Golden was the lone Democratic vote for the GOP bill in October. “This could mean life or death for a lot of people."
Former Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican running for the seat, said Golden is trying to have it both ways. “He flip-flops," he said. “He is a liberal. When he comes back to campaign, he campaigns like a Republican."
Golden said he likes the contrast presented by his two challengers, describing LePage and Dunlap as partisan warriors. He attacked LePage’s record on healthcare, particularly Medicaid, in the state. And Golden criticized Dunlap as an antiabortion Democrat who was trying to reinvent himself as a progressive.
Allies argue that Golden is heeding the needs of his district. Former Rep. Max Rose (D., N.Y.) praised Golden’s bravery last election cycle, when he moved left to support a ban on assault-style weapons following a deadly mass shooting in Lewiston, just down the road from where Golden lives.
At the time, Golden was running against Austin Theriault, a former race-car driver and relatively unknown GOP candidate. Golden ultimately won by less than 1 percentage point, in what was his closest re-election yet.
“Any cold political calculation would not have pointed him in that direction," said Rose.
Write to Olivia Beavers at Olivia.Beavers@wsj.com
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