Vought and friends want an excuse to cut the federal bureaucracy. A shutdown gives them cover to do this. Trump, meanwhile, is fighting for the power of the purse. A shutdown gives him an emergency to test expanding that authority. Congressional Democrats face increasing frustration from their base, particularly left-leaning and younger voters--the shutdown, here, grants a messaging win. The only folks getting screwed are probably Congressional Republicans, though I wouldn't put it past Schumer and Jefferies to bungle the messaging so badly that they come out none worser.
(The winning move is voiding the debt ceiling. For all constituencies. Trump gets a free hand. Congressional Repoublicans gain leverage. And in the deal to remove the ciling, Congressional Democrats gain exceptional leverage.)
treetalker•4mo ago
> President Trump shared an A.I.-generated video on Truth Social, mocking the Democrats’ congressional leaders hours after he met with them in negotiations to avert a government shutdown. The video, which fabricated the voice of Senator Chuck Schumer at a news conference on Monday afternoon, falsely accuses Democrats of trying to give free health care to undocumented immigrants to gain their support. In the video, the Democrats’ House leader, Representative Hakeem Jeffries, who is Black, is pictured with a fake mustache and wearing a sombrero.