Thursday, October 2, 2025

Shutdown Politics


Eleanor Mueller, Burgess Everett, and Shelby Talcott at Semafor:
President Donald Trump’s budget guru wants to use a shutdown to slash the federal government in the same vein as Elon Musk’s now-quiet Department of Government Efficiency.

But even pro-DOGE Republicans are warning Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought to go slow.

“Russ is less politically in tune than the president,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., a member of the Senate DOGE Caucus. “We, as Republicans, have never had so much moral high ground on a government funding bill in our lives. … I just don’t see why we would squander it, which I think is the risk of being aggressive with executive power in this moment.”

 Less than 24 hours into a government shutdown, some of the same political faultlines are reappearing in the GOP after billionaire Elon Musk launched the administration’s effort to streamline the federal government. This time, amid the added chaos of a shutdown with little end in sight, Republicans have to be mindful to not overplay their hand in the broader funding talks with their opponents.


 

Washington Post:

How concerned are Americans about the partial shutdown of the federal government and whom do they blame for causing it? The Washington Post texted a nationally representative sample of 1,010 people on Wednesday to ask.

The Post’s poll found significantly more Americans blame President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans for the shutdown than Democrats, though many say they are not sure. People express moderate concern about the shutdown’s impact at this early stage, with “somewhat concerned” the most common answer. A large majority support Democrats’ call to extend federal health insurance subsidies in general, though just under half support the party demanding this if it extends the government shutdown.



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