Columbia News

Rep. Mark Alford, who represents Missouri’s 4th district in the U.S. Congress, announced on November 13, 2025, that the House GOP had passed a bill to end what he referred to as the "Schumer Shutdown." In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Alford highlighted the passage of what he described as an "America-First" measure and criticized Democrats for their handling of the shutdown.

In his first post at 01:25 UTC, Alford wrote: "America: hostage no more. @HouseGOP just voted to reopen our nation by passing a CLEAN, AMERICA-FIRST bill. America is BACK! Next up, @POTUS desk! "

Later that morning at 02:19 UTC, he posted: "Just passed an AMERICA FIRST bill to end the historically long and grueling Schumer Shutdown. This shutdown made one thing clear: Democrats were willing to let Americans suffer for political gain. But today, @HouseGOP is taking the lead to govern the right way: putting America"

By mid-afternoon at 15:28 UTC, Alford declared: "It’s #AlmostFriday and the Schumer Shutdown is OVER! America is back "

The so-called "Schumer Shutdown" refers to a period when government operations were halted due to budget disagreements in Congress. The term references Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and has been used by some Republican lawmakers during periods of legislative gridlock.

Mark Alford began serving in Congress in 2023 after succeeding Vicky Hartzler as representative for Missouri's 4th district. He was born in Baytown, Texas in 1963 and currently resides in Lake Winnebago. Alford graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BA in 1988.