Hmmmmmm?
The collapse of Congress’ spending negotiations is throwing the presidential transition and preparations for President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration into chaos as Washington stares down the prospect of a government shutdown just after midnight Friday.
Federal agencies only this week began briefing the Trump transition’s “landing teams,” which began their work more than a month later than their predecessors. Now, if Congress can’t cut a deal in the next couple days, those agencies could be forced to furlough much of the staff doing that work and shut down the government offices where it’s taking place — impeding the incoming officials’ access to documents and further slowing down already-delayed preparations to take over the federal government next month.
Trump and his team are already in the “danger zone” on transition and inauguration planning because they opted to use private emails and devices, rejected federal cybersecurity support, and are working out of Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida club, said Ann O’Leary, who led Hillary Clinton’s 2016 transition preparations.
“At a minimum, a shutdown of the government is going to certainly add to the chaos and the vulnerability to the U.S. government,” she added.
An OMB spokesperson warned POLITICO that such a lapse “would disrupt a wide range of activities associated with the orderly transition of power,” but declined to specify what programs and personnel would be impacted.
Agency staff are similarly in the dark. Federal staff received guidance from their leadership Thursday on what the shutdown would entail but it did not include information about how it would impact their work with the Trump transition, one State Department official, not authorized to speak on the record, told POLITICO.
The Trump transition did not respond to a request for comment….
Note….
With the above….
Why do I think this WILL be settled by Jan. 21?
Update….
Collins, the top Senate GOP appropriator, told reporters that a bill originating from the Senate is not the “preferred way to proceed,” but is something she could potentially foresee amid the ongoing troubles.
“I don’t know what the plan is now,” she said, adding that the inclusion of a debt ceiling increase “seems to have aggravated the Democrats.”
Collins also said that she would be supportive of a short-term measure that would get lawmakers past the holiday season.
“Yes,” she said about the possibility of a three-week “clean” bill. “My number one goal is to prevent a government shutdown.”
As the clock ticks to Friday at 11:59 p.m., lawmakers are becoming acutely aware of the time crunch they face to craft a proposal that can muster bipartisan support, move it through the House and usher it through the Senate.
With time running out, Republicans are urging their colleagues to get down to business.
“At some point, let’s just put on our big boy, big girl pants, let’s understand that we got to get to 218 here and we got to get 60 over there,” Dusty Johnson said. “Ideas that don’t move us in that direction are not helpful.”…..
More…
One would think that as long as Congress is heeding Musk’s and Trump’s views?
They will NOT get anything done….