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by MARK POWELL
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They’re sweating bullets on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue right now. That is, after all, what D.C. does best: acting when its “leaders” have been driven into a corner and all other options available to them have been exhausted.
Once again, it’s the prospect of yet another partial government shutdown spurring Capitol Hill and the White House into motion. At least theoretically.
The Big Four of congressional leadership (Senate majority leader John Thune, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, House speaker Mike Johnson and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries) are scheduled to huddle with president Donald Trump early Monday afternoon to discuss an 11th-hour detour for avoiding the latest looming manufactured crisis.
Congress’ authority to borrow money expires at 12:01 a.m. this Wednesday, October 1, 2025. Uncle Sam can then no longer hit up lending institutions, asking, “Brother, can you spare a dime?” Without that cash infusion, the government can’t meet payroll or pay its bills, forcing it to hang the “closed” sign in most non-essential federal offices (although, as FITSNews reported last week, the definition of which bureaucrats are “essential” keeps expanding the more often these sham shutdowns occur).
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And get this: Just getting Trump & Friends to sit down together and talk is all D.C. has been able to accomplish to date!
Schumer had earlier secured a meeting with Trump to air the Democratic views on this impending “crisis.” Until their Republican counterparts found out about it and said, “No dice!”
“(Trump) and I talked about it at length yesterday and the day before,” Johnson said late last week. “I said, look, when they get their job done, once they do the basic governing work of keeping the government open, as president, then you can have a meeting with him. Of course, it might be productive at that point, but right now, this is just a waste of his time.”
The sticking point, as always, is spending. Specifically, Democrats want more for their cherished schemes. This time around, it’s healthcare. They’re demanding an extension of subsidies to help low-income folks buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act (i.e. Obamacare). And for good measure, they’re throwing in a demand that Medicaid cuts included in Trump’s signature “One Big Beautiful Bill” are reversed. Republicans have countered with, “let’s keep the government funded for another seven weeks first, with no news strings attached – then we’ll discuss other issues.”
With both sides dancing ever closer to the fiscal cliff, the recriminations are reaching a fever pitch.
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Schumer and Jeffries noted in a joint statement released Saturday evening (with a ring of sanctimonious smugness) that “Democrats will meet anywhere, at any time, and with anyone to negotiate a bipartisan spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people.”
“Sen. Schumer is clearly getting nervous,” Thune’s spokesman countered. “There’s an easy way out, and they’ll get a chance to take it.”
But will they?
The last few times Congress has done the “Shutdown Shuffle,” Democrats came to the rescue at the last minute and saved the GOP leadership’s bacon by passing a continuing resolution. With rebellious Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus refusing to go along with loosening the purse strings even further, the GOP didn’t have the votes to sidestep a shutdown. And each time, Democrats came to the rescue at the last minute like the cavalry dashing up to save a frontier fort in an old Western movie.
Not this time.
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Congressional Democrats are perfectly content to send federal bureaucrats home on an unpaid fall vacation so they can hang the blame for it around the GOP’s neck heading into next year’s 2026 midterm election cycle. Which is why Schumer and Jeffries are digging in their heels on issues they knew perfectly well Republicans refuse to budge on.
For them, it’s a classic case of “heads I win, tails you lose.”
The wild card, as always, is Trump. He’s been talking a lot in recent days about a possible peace deal in Gaza being close. Partly because every president since Richard Nixon has longed to be seen as a peacemaker for that troubled corner of the globe, and partly to distract attention from the increasing tempo of “Beat the Clock: Government Shutdown Edition.”
Will Mr. Art of the Deal try to cut one with Democrats, and then instruct his Republican faithful to fall in behind it? Will he let the government close shop, figuring that would suit his own political purposes? Or will he just sit back and watch, letting Johnson, Jeffries, et al. slug it out among themselves?
As Trump himself would say, “Stay tuned.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
J. Mark Powell is an award-winning former TV journalist, government communications veteran, and a political consultant. He is also an author and an avid Civil War enthusiast. Got a tip or a story idea for Mark? Email him at mark@fitsnews.com.
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7 comments
This article is laughable. The Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the Presidency, if they can’t pass a spending bill or CR why on earth would that be the Democrat’s fault. If they need Democrats to pass a bill then they need to compromise, otherwise get your own members to vote for it. Also, if Trump couldn’t end the war in Ukraine with “one simple phone call” in 24 hours why would you think he has any sway over Gaza. Enjoy the flavor aid Mark.
Democrats “cherished schemes” like improving healthcare access? The republicans have both chambers and the white house. They should be able to pass whatever they want. You’re such a hack.
RC,
Since 2010, the ACA has:
Doubled health care costs for individuals (and we’re expecting another 20% increase in ’26)
Decreased access – the ACA networks (read physicians willing to accept their rates) continue to shrink as gubamint bovine excreta and poor reimbursement rates increase
Tell me again how that “improves healthcare access”
Per usual the “Colonel” leaves out some important information –
“For 2026, across 312 insurers participating in the ACA Marketplaces from the 50 states and the District of Columbia, this analysis shows a median proposed premium increase of 18%, which is about 11 percentage points higher than last year. This is the largest rate change insurers have requested since 2018, the last time that policy uncertainty contributed to sharp premium increases. On average, ACA Marketplace insurers are raising premiums by about 20% in 2026. Based on a more detailed analysis of available documents from insurers in 19 states and the District of Columbia, like in prior years, growth in health care prices stood out as a key factor driving costs in 2026. Insurers cite increasing cost and utilization of high-priced drugs as well as general market factors, such as increasing labor costs and inflation, as contributing to premium increases.
In addition to rising healthcare costs, the majority of insurers are also taking into account the potential expiration of enhanced premium tax credits in their premium rate increases for the next year. The expiration of enhanced tax credits will lead to out-of-pocket premiums for ACA marketplace enrollees increasing by an average of more than 75%, with insurers expecting healthier enrollees to drop coverage.
That, in turn, increases underlying premiums. Other federal policy changes, like the implementation of tariffs and the ACA Marketplace Integrity and Affordability rule were also discussed, though to a lesser extent.””
AND
“Fact Check: Have healthcare costs risen faster since the Affordable Care Act was passed?
By Keshav Srikant·April 22, 2025
NO
While health care costs have continued to increase since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law in 2010, they’ve done so at a slower rate than in the years before the law was passed.
A 2021 study published in JAMA found that out-of-pocket healthcare expenses increased at an average of 3.4% a year from 2000-2009 and 1.9% a year from 2010-2018, after the ACA. This may be partially attributable to macroeconomic conditions: inflation was slightly lower from 2010 to 2018 (1.77%) than 2000-2009 (2.56%). A 2020 Health Affairs study noted annual healthcare spending growth decreased from 6.9% (2000-2009) to 4.3% (2010-2018) post-ACA, and that though the literature debated the ACA’s role in this, no paper linked the ACA to increased growth in healthcare spending.
In 2023 dollars, healthcare spending per person was about $11,150 in 2010 and $14,500 by 2023.”
Shutdowns are just another distraction. I guess Mike Johnson can continue to run interference for DJT and prevent any files from being released.
Pedos of a feather bury evidence together.
GOP = Guardians Of Pedophiles?
We are surrounded by shit shows. “In this corner, we have the Trump tards. In the opposite corner, we have the anti-Trump tards.” Each side believes their “leaders” are doing what is best for them and our country. Neither side understands that both sets of “leaders” work together for their own personal enrichment and greater good, as well as that of the JWO and to hell with the peasants on both sides and everything in between.