Ironically, destroying the government will become more difficult once it is shut down. Therefore, Donald Trump is not above a bit of groveling to get House Republicans to pass a continuing resolution.
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Apart from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who actually votes according to his beliefs, the House GOP’s self-proclaimed deficit hawks frequently talk a big game only to betray their stated principles when it counts. Donald Trump hopes that they will do so again next week instead of shutting down the government.
On Saturday, the president pleaded with them to support a continuing resolution (CR) that would largely maintain current funding levels for six months.
Trump wrote in a social media post that the legislation House and Senate Republicans have come up with is “under the circumstances, a very good funding bill.” It would, of course, add hundreds of billions of dollars to the national debt.
Trump suggests that shutting down the government temporarily would prevent him from destroying it permanently. Of course, he doesn’t put it quite like that.
“Great things are coming for America, and I am asking you all to give us a few months to get us through to September so we can continue to put the Country’s ‘financial house’ in order,” he stated.
Trump’s plea is primarily directed at House Republicans. GOP leaders cannot afford any defections (apart from Massie). If even a couple more lawmakers who rail against deficits and the massive debt were to vote against the CR, it would have no chance of passing without Democratic support — which they usually (eventually) give in order to avert a shutdown.
This time around, however, after Republicans have reneged on prior deals and will not provide assurances that the White House will actually spend the money as intended, it looks as though Democrats will not play along, which is why nobody even bothered to work with them on the legislation introduced on Saturday.
That means that this CR has to pass solely on the strength of GOP votes, and if House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) can’t control those supposed fiscal conservatives, then a shutdown is entirely the fault of Republicans.
Things are a bit trickier on the Senate side, where some Democratic support would be needed to clear the 60-vote threshold.
Trump, of course, would rather blame somebody else for a shutdown.
“Democrats will do anything they can to shut down our Government, and we can’t let that happen,” he stated.
This is true, if by “anything,” he means, “Vote against a bill they were not consulted on and that doesn’t reflect their beliefs.” In addition, the president doesn’t explain why Democrats would be needed at all since he likes to (falsely) claim that he won a massive mandate in November.
Trump usually doesn’t have to beg Republicans for their votes. However, after causing major market jitters this week with his erratic trade policies, a shutdown would very likely lead to more heavy losses on Wall Street, which is something he hopes to avoid.
And therefore, it appears, he is not above a bit of groveling.
“We have to remain UNITED — NO DISSENT — Fight for another day when the timing is right. VERY IMPORTANT,” he stated.
He is right about one thing.
Republicans do not want to shut down the government.
Because, if they did, Americans would get a taste of what things will be like when Elon Musk and his DOGE crew are done destroying it.
In his Navigating the Insanity columns, Klaus Marre provides the kind of hard-hitting, thought-provoking, and often humorous analysis you won’t find anywhere else.
