Trump Presidency Ends With One Last Threat Of A Government Shutdown

It’s perhaps the most fitting end for a presidency plagued by crisis and mismanagement: the federal government is racing to prevent one final shutdown under the administration of President Donald Trump.

An omnibus government funding bill needed to prevent a shutdown has been repeatedly delayed over a number of issues, the most significant being an agreement on covid relief. Negotiations for the past two weeks revolved around a handful of contentious provisions, including aid to state and local governments, liability waivers for businesses accused of exposing workers or customers to covid, and a second round of stimulus checks. But the final hold-up was a last-minute demand from Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) to prohibit the Federal Reserve from continuing emergency lending programs created earlier this year by the CARES Act.

On Friday, mere hours away from a government shutdown, lawmakers passed a 48-hour continuing resolution to keep the government funded and make room for further negotiations over the weekend. That deadline expires tonight. Although Democratic leaders have fortunately reached an agreement on new language with Sen. Toomey, they have just hours to pass the sweeping spending package through both the House and Senate – where the objection of a single senator could delay the vote past the midnight deadline.

It’s remarkable that Congress and President Trump would even risk the possibility of shutting down the federal government in the midst of a national emergency such as the covid pandemic. A shutdown could delay the distribution of the new vaccine to essential health-care workers or other critical public health functions.

But resolving government shutdowns is nothing new for the 116^th Congress. This Congress took their seats in the middle the last government shutdown, which the previous Congress was unable to resolve before adjourning. It is noteworthy that, despite the disagreements that occur so often in divided government, Speaker Pelosi has so far managed to avoid another government shutdown since retaking the speakership in January. Her predecessor, Paul Ryan, oversaw not one but three government shutdowns during the first two years of the Trump administration – including the first to occur when the federal government was controlled by one party in over 40 years.

With Democrats retaining control of the House of Representatives and competent dealmaker Joe Biden ascending to the presidency in January, it seems unlikely that we will face another government shutdown for the next two years. Simply keeping the lights on is the lowest of low bars for our elected leaders to clear, but the transition to an administration that will have no trouble doing so is a welcome one.