Deja vu all over again?
It's been nearly a year since Republicans in Congress shut down the federal government, impacting millions of Americans across the country, causing nearly 800,000 federal employees to be furloughed, and costing taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. Is it going to
happen again?
... the funding passed in January expires at the end of next month, on September 30. Both houses must pass new funding bills—likely in the form of a continuing resolution—to keep the government running. And that has raised the possibility of further shenanigans.
A well-placed House Republican source tells me GOP leadership is increasingly nervous about the potential for a rebellion on the funding bill.
Last time around, defunding Obamacare was the Republican goal, and this time it looks like any executive action on immigration reform by President Obama will be the hostage, with both Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Steve King delivering the initial shutdown threats.
Bear in mind, the last government shutdown was a disaster for Republicans, with blame for the fiasco being laid squarely at their feet—which, by the way, was probably the only reason it didn't last longer than 16 days—so they wouldn't be stupid enough, barely a month before election day, to do it again. Right? Right? Well, maybe they would, because they already seem to be doing some preemptive finger-pointing:
Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee (and co-author of the budget agreement), told Business Insider, "No, there will not be a government shutdown"—although he then added, "If there is a government shutdown, it'll be because the Democrats brought it about."
Of course.
Stay tuned.