What’s the latest update on Trump’s partial government shutdown? According to Mick Mulvaney, Donald Trump’s incoming acting Chief of Staff, the shutdown could very well continue into 2019. (And remember: Senate Republicans adjourned for the holidays as of Saturday, and don’t plan to come back for deliberations until Thursday).
Mulvaney told “Fox News Sunday,” that, “It is very possible that the shutdown will go beyond the 28th and into the new Congress.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, he was quick to blame Democrats, and specifically, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the House Minority Leader.
“I think it's a really good question here as to whether or not this deal can be cut before the new Congress comes in. I think there's an implication here for Nancy Pelosi's election for the speakership...I think she's now in that unfortunate position of being beholden to her left wing to where she cannot be seen as agreeing with the president on anything until after she’s speaker...If that’s the case, again, I think there's a chance we go into the next Congress.”
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And to recap how we got here to begin with, Trump threw a tantrum over wanting additional billions approved to make his racist, heartless wall on the Mexican border. When Democrats refused to budge on their ethics, the funding bill essentially halted, sending the federal government into a partial shutdown.
Partial shutdown means that some aspects of the government (which have already been approved for funding through September 2019) will continue on without issue. For other departments, employees may expect to be furloughed (basically, sent home without pay) or sent home without work and pay, if you’re a federal contractor (as opposed to a federal employee).
The furloughed employees generally expect to receive “back pay” for those hours they’re sent home, whereas contractors are employed by private businesses, and it’s a toss-up whether they’ll end up using paid sick or vacation hours to make up for the loss of hours.
But does Trump care? Doubtful.
Oh, and don’t forget! Back in 2015, Mulvaney called Trump’s fervent desire for his border wall “absurd” and “almost childish,” as dug up by CNN. Ah, how times change.