Among the various denizens of the Trump creature factory, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has been touted as one of the Not Insane ones. He has been especially touted as a stabilizing force acting against the froth and spittle of Trump budget director Mick Mulvaney who, in addition to producing a new administration budget proposal that thoroughly disembowels every agency, program and mere idea that far-right conservatives have ever complained about, opined earlier this year that he would be open to helping legislative-branch conservatives shut down the federal government in order to force their ideas through. "We might need a shutdown at some point," he told reporters, because "Washington needs to be fixed."
So long as the new Treasury secretary was around to talk some sense into both Trump and the ex-congressman egging him into another government shutdown at the far right's behest, the wisdom went, we could avoid another round of shutting down the federal government for no particularly identifiable reason. Guess what? That assumption just broke down.
Mnuchin told the Senate Budget Committee that “at times there could be a good shutdown,” though he added it’s not the administration’s “primary objective.”
The remarks were unusual because as Treasury secretary, Mnuchin is the official responsible for the full faith and credit of the United States.
The willingness of Republican lawmakers to shutdown the government and publicly question whether the United States should indeed pay its own bills directly led, you may recall, to a 2011 reduction in our nation's credit rating. The credit agencies deduced that the government of the most powerful economy on Earth being unwilling to fully commit to its own fiscal obligations was Bad News. Having it happen twice in a decade, though? The repercussions this time around would likely be enormous.
Mnuchin seemed to agree a shutdown shakeup of Washington could produce positive results. He added that “we would never shut down critical functions of the government.”
Yes, that is exactly what happened last time around. "Critical functions" stayed open—the true force of the shutdown landed on the backs of every other citizen. Contractors for government projects, furloughed government employees, other government employees forced to work without pay, veterans, medical programs, food programs, anyone needing even the tiniest bit of federal paperwork in order to get on with their lives or jobs? Those people bore the brunt while wide-eyed House Republicans thumped around Washington declaring themselves heroes.
So now Donald Trump, his budget director, and his Treasury secretary are all on board with a September government shutdown if the extremist plans drafted up by Trump's crew aren't implemented post-haste. Put a note on your calendar, because it's going to be the next big Trump catastrophe.