And the RightWingNuts in the US House are determined to take this there….
“We always get the blame,” said Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), a senior appropriator. “Name one time that we’ve shut the government down and we haven’t got the blame.”
Government shutdowns have become a regular tradition in Washington during split-party control. And, to a degree, there is a ho-hum nature to the way in which both sides are bracing for the latest iteration of political stasis.
The Office of Management and Budget has publicly posted its agency guidance, even though several of those plans have not been updated for years. A recently revised outline for the Department of Housing and Urban Development contains intensive instructions for how it plans to function during a shutdown, including procedures for putting workers on furloughs, keeping its technological systems running and managing outreach to partner organizations.
Though agencies have protocols in place for shutdowns, there’s a critical difference about this one: there’s no discernible off-ramp in sight. House GOP leadership has been unable to pass a short-term funding bill amid conservative opposition. Speaker Kevin McCarthy has refused to engage in bipartisan talks so far, since doing so would put his gavel at risk. And even if he manages to pass something with only GOP support, the Democratic-controlled Senate would certainly reject the end product….
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“I think the American public basically believes that shutting down the government is a dumb thing to do and a costly thing to do,” said Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the former House Democratic leader. “What a stupid thing to do in terms of knowing full well that you’re probably going to reimburse people for not working.”
A shutdown would have far-reaching effects on operations across the country, from disrupting federal employees’ jobs and paychecks and shuttering major parts of the administration to closing national parks and putting infrastructure projects on hold. It also could have impacts on various Biden initiatives….