House Democrats are reportedly weighing the option of shutting down the government in response to President Donald Trump’s creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Last week, Trump urged the Republican-majority Congress “to pass a clean, temporary government funding Bill (“CR”) to the end of September.” Democrats view this proposal as “tacitly blessing” DOGE’s staffing and its proposed budget cuts, as reported by Politico.
As a result, top Democrats in the House have been polling their members to see if they would support a government shutdown over DOGE, which is led by Elon Musk. One senior aide to a House Democrat told Politico, “Nobody wants a shutdown, but they don’t feel like aiding and abetting what’s happening, with Musk and Trump taking a wrecking ball to healthcare in particular. Why would we be complicit in that?”
One senior lawmaker expressed frustration with the situation, saying, “At some point you’ve got to have a … backbone. I am not giving them a blank check until September,” as reported by Politico.
Congress is facing a March 14 deadline to finalize government funding. Democrats are attempting to secure guarantees that would prevent further layoffs or cuts to government programs under Trump and Musk’s leadership. The CR would only provide temporary funding for part of the budget, including agencies like the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency, but it would not address the growing costs of the national deficit or entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Despite polling indicating public approval of DOGE’s work, Democrats are ready to challenge the administration, potentially risking a shutdown. As another senior House Democrat aide told Politico, “People now feel like the more perilous position is giving votes without the perception there’s been any change in accountability. The incentive structure right now is not to provide votes for them.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., leads a fragile majority of 218-215 in the House and, in the previous year, had to frequently rely on Democrats to pass key legislation, where only a simple majority is needed.
If a spending deal is not reached by the March 14 deadline, it could result in the furloughing of hundreds of thousands of federal employees and the closure of “nonessential” services like financial regulation and trash collection in national parks. The most recent government shutdown, which lasted 35 days and ended in January 2019, was the longest in history. This shutdown occurred during Trump’s first term as a result of disagreements over his border wall initiative with Mexico.
{Matzav.com}