Federal Budget
October 30, 2025 — Bill Glahn
There used to be a word for that. From the Associated Press (AP), Judge questions the Trump administration’s plan to suspend SNAP benefits for millions. As you know, the federal government has been shut down for the past 30 days. Funding ran out. It was defunded. Senate Democrats refuse to authorize the federal government to operate, to spend any money. Federal law enforcement agencies have a separate spending authority and
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October 30, 2025 — Bill Glahn
The race is on for a face-saving solution. From The Hill newspaper, Senate GOP, Democrats looking for ‘off-ramp’ to end shutdown next week. Details, Senate Republicans and Democrats are trying to hammer out a proposal to end the 30-day government shutdown as soon as next week, as some centrist Democrats argue behind the scenes that their party has successfully highlighted rising health care costs and it’s time to end the
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October 29, 2025 — Bill Glahn
Meh. Probably not. But after more than four weeks of “shutdown,” perhaps some fatigue is creeping in. From Politico, Capitol agenda: Thune says shutdown talks are picking up: Some Republicans appear increasingly convinced that enough centrist Democrats are getting ready to fold — potentially by early next week. Maybe. Maybe not. The idea is to convince another half-dozen or so Senate Democrats to flip to reach 60 votes to re-open
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October 26, 2025 — Bill Glahn
Despite the best efforts of Democrats, the shutdown blame game doesn’t seem to be working in their favor. Buried in paragraph 19 (not kidding) of this article from The Hill newspaper, President Trump’s approval rating isn’t taking a hit as the funding lapse is in its fourth week. In fact, his poll numbers have gone up a bit. Decision Desk HQ’s polling average shows that Trump’s approval rating was 44
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October 24, 2025 — Bill Glahn
Last evening, the U.S. Senate adjourned until Monday, guaranteeing that the federal government “shutdown” will extend for a full four weeks. Before they left town, Senators confirmed the fifth federal judge this month, with two more teed up for Monday evening when they return. For his part, Pres. Trump will be off to Asia this weekend. The Hill newspaper reports, President Trump on Friday will travel to Asia for his
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October 22, 2025 — Bill Glahn
After three weeks of government “shutdown” are we finally seeing some cracks in the armor? The latest stoppage is now, officially, the second-longest ever. Of course, the general public has seen remarkable little impact from “shutdown,” but perhaps members of congress are ready to get on with their lives. Headlines from The Hill newspaper, Pressure grows as shutdown enters fourth week Mike Johnson, John Thune eye new stopgap spending measure
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October 21, 2025 — Bill Glahn
The people have spoken. From Rasmussen Reports, 51% Want Government Shutdown to Continue. Vox populi, vox dei. Details, A narrow majority of voters – including two-thirds of Democrats – are in favor of having the current government shutdown continue. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 51% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of continuing the shutdown, including 31% who Strongly Approve. Forty-one percent (41%) disapprove, including
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October 20, 2025 — Bill Glahn
From The Hill newspaper, Democrats block funding bill for 11th time, with no end to shutdown in sight. I’m pleased to see that tomorrow, the Senate will pivot to confirming judges. Something useful may get done this week. The “No Kings” rallies came and went over the weekend. This morning, The Hill reports, Democratic senators fear getting ‘hammered’ after ‘No Kings’ for ending shutdown Profiles in courage, Some Democrats skeptical
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October 18, 2025 — Bill Glahn
The Hill newspaper muses on some upcoming dates that could prompt action on ending the federal government shutdown, When could the shutdown end? Five key dates to watch. The dates involve upcoming payrolls for bureaucrats and military members in different categories and the upcoming Thanksgiving travel period. They report, The shutdown became one of the three longest in U.S. history on Friday, with lawmakers indicating they believe it will drag
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October 15, 2025 — Bill Glahn
From The Hill newspaper, Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump shutdown layoffs. They report, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, an appointee of former President Clinton, sided with government employee unions in temporarily barring the administration from carrying out the reductions in force (RIFs) that were expected to impact more than 4,000 workers. At a hearing Wednesday, Illston said before arguments even began that she believed the plaintiffs would ultimately prevail in
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October 11, 2025 — Bill Glahn
The senior senator from Minnesota stages a little useless theater at the U.S. Capitol. In the 18-second video, posted Thursday, she appears to peek into the House chamber, only to see an empty room, in her telling. The actual chamber is never shown, so you’ll just have to take her word for its emptiness. The script reads, All by myself… Knocked at the door of the House chamber and no
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October 10, 2025 — Bill Glahn
Are mass federal layoffs here? NBC News reports, Trump administration begins ‘substantial’ federal worker layoffs amid shutdown. Details, Affected agencies include the departments of Interior, Homeland Security, Treasury, Education, Energy, Housing and Urban Development and Health and Human Services, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, according to an administration official. Democrats pushed back, saying that a shutdown does not require President Donald Trump to fire workers or give him
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October 9, 2025 — John Hinderaker
This week, I was on the American Experiment podcast. We talked about the shutdown, the Jay Jones scandal, and what I really think about liberal violence. Probably expressed more strongly than you have seen it here. My appearance starts at 17:03. If you have a few minutes to spare, I would encourage you to listen to the whole podcast. The first segment is Grace Keating and Kathryn Johnson, kicking around
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October 5, 2025 — John Hinderaker
Why, exactly, have Democrats shut down (sort of) the federal government? Largely because they want the taxpayers to fund unlimited free health care for all illegal immigrants. The Democrats don’t know which way to jump on this one. It is, in fact, the main basis of their objection to the Republican’s “clean” continuing resolution. Sometimes they admit that, sometimes they don’t. Democratic Party spokesman George Stephanopoulos tried to deny it
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October 3, 2025 — Bill Glahn
It looks like the shutdown is going to continue for another week or more. The U.S. Senate is not scheduling any votes until Monday and the U.S. House says it won’t reconvene next week. On Day 3 of the federal government shutdown, I can’t see any evidence of absence as I go about my day-to-day life, but the media has found plenty: Politico: Farmers, a key GOP constituency, hit hard
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October 3, 2025 — John Hinderaker
Those were the topics I covered last night on the Rowan Dean Show on Sky News: the partial government shutdown and what caused it, Secretary Hegseth’s anti-woke reforms, the latest revelations about Joe Biden’s mental incapacity, and–very briefly–Bad Bunny as a Super Bowl halftime performer. Quotable quote, regarding the shutdown: “Basically, the Democrats are trying to bully the Republicans into giving up their electoral majorities.”
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October 2, 2025 — John Hinderaker
Democrats are trying to justify their government shutdown by claiming that they aim to restore “cuts” in health care spending. There have been cuts, of course, with regard to illegal aliens and those who persistently refuse to seek employment or go to school. But that isn’t all the Democrats claim, at least, to be talking about. My colleague Matt Dean explains what is going on: The healthcare “cuts” Democrats are
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