On Oct. 7, 2025, once more the government has been shut down. It is the eleventh shutdown in United States history, yet it is also the third time a government shutdown has occurred under President Donald Trump in his five years in office. As the Senate adjourns and fails to come to an agreement after weeks of negotiation, a familiar yet seemingly forgotten word enters the American consciousness: bipartisanship.
For the Loyola students who may not have heard of bipartisanship, the word means “the fact of two political parties that usually oppose each other agreeing or working together,” according to the Cambridge dictionary. A seemingly simple and foundational idea, yet many Americans believe that it is dead or in the process of dying.
Michael Romero ’28 had this to say: “Bipartisanship is no longer possible in America due to the nation’s harmful political landscape and polarizing differences.”
This view, although admittedly pessimistic, is supported by recent events such as the government shutdown, failure to release the Epstein files, and the attempted impeachments of Donald Trump. These massive disagreements align with a broader statistical trend: Senators and Congressmen are voting based on party affiliation at record rates. For example, in 2022, the Senate was divided on issues by party 83.1% of the time, the highest percentage recorded in American history.
This partisan shift isn’t just happening in Washington, D.C., either. Without popular support, political change is unlikely if not impossible, and so social media’s entrapment of the nation into echo chambers only deepens partisan sentiment.
According to Cooper Kun ’28, “These social media algorithms also push content which demonizes the other side. The main problem is that algorithms feed you what you want to hear, which accelerates you down the path of political polarization.”
As more and more of the voting population is heavily influenced by social media, the odds of a return to bipartisanship look bleak. Despite this grim outlook, history has shown that the American political system is resilient even at the worst of times. One unifying event, politician, or mutual agreement could turn the tide and replace a largely partisan system with one dedicated to cooperation.
For example, from 1936 to 1938, the House and Senate were politically polarized. Republicans and some conservative Democrats formed the “Conservative Coalition” to fight back against President F.D.R’s policy initiatives, such as expanded social programs, labor rights, and centralized power in the government. For example, the 1935 Social Security Act passed in the Senate with a vote of 77 to 6, while the 1938 Fair Labour Standards Act passed with a vote of 52 to 28. This bill, which banned child labor and established a federal minimum wage, was opposed entirely by the Conservative Coalition.
However, as World War Two began in 1939, cooperation was revitalized. With such a huge crisis hitting the United States, old partisan alliances such as the Conservative Coalition faded and both the House and Senate voted together on almost all issues. Until there is a unifying crisis that threatens the nation, it’s clear: bipartisanship is dead in America, and nobody’s pushing for a return.
