According to a recent study by the Media Research Center, ABC, CBS, and NBC displayed a Democratic bias in their coverage of the 2025 government shutdown. The analysis covered the evening news programs from these networks during October, revealing that they tended to diminish Democratic accountability for the stalemate while blaming Congressional Republicans and former President Trump.
Bill D’Agostino, a senior analyst at MRC, noted that 87% of the coverage was “strongly supportive” of Democrats compared to Republicans. Out of 67 news pieces related to the shutdown, only a dozen acknowledged the Senate Democrats’ lack of support for a straightforward funding resolution.
“Of these reports, there were 83 instances where reporters criticized Republicans, but just 12 that pointed fingers at Democrats,” D’Agostino mentioned. The study highlighted that, overall, the networks were unclear regarding how the shutdown came about. For instance, only 12 reports across the three networks hinted at Senate Democrats obstructing a continuing resolution, with ABC and CBS touching on this only 12.5% of the time. NBC fared slightly better, including this detail in 31% of broadcasts.
Often, the coverage referred to pressures from the Trump administration on Democrats without clearly stating that Senate Democrats were the ones blocking funding legislation. The analysis found 21 instances where reporters aimed to rationalize Democratic demands, neglecting to mention that these demands were contributing to the inability to fund the government.
Furthermore, the MRC pointed out that networks often repeated standard Democratic narratives. For example, House Speaker Mike Johnson’s refusal to reconvene the House was labeled as a primary reason for the shutdown, echoing Democratic claims. However, the same favorable treatment wasn’t extended to Republicans; journalists did not report Republican assertions about the Senate Democrats’ earlier votes in favor of a continuing resolution that included similar healthcare subsidy cuts that led to the shutdown.
As of now, ABC, NBC, and CBS have not responded to requests for comment. Meanwhile, Republicans are advocating for a short-term funding extension for fiscal year 2025, with a deadline set for November 21, to allow time for agreement on spending for fiscal 2026.
This proposal doesn’t have many unrelated elements, though it does include an additional $88 million for enhancing security funding for lawmakers, the White House, and the Supreme Court. However, Democrats have pledged to veto any funding bill that doesn’t extend the enhanced Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of 2025. Most Republicans argue that these pandemic-era subsidies are no longer needed.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed a willingness to discuss subsidy reforms but insisted on keeping those issues separate from current negotiations.
