If they are not careful, Democrats could get outmaneuvered on the details of trading funding for reform.
government shutdown
Posted inPolitics
It’s So Cute How You Write Laws and Stuff
The latest attempt to ‘rein in’ ICE in a government funding bill doesn’t really even work on its own terms.
Posted inTransportation
Air Safety Already Had Gaps. Then the Shutdown Came.
During the recent government shutdown, the national conversation about flying safety focused solely on FAA air traffic controllers and TSA screeners. Few people seemed aware that thousands of other federal watchdogs spent six weeks on their couches.
Posted inTAP
Is Trump a Lame Duck Yet?
He is clearly weaker—and also more dangerous. But the more Republicans are willing to stand up to him, the more his threats ring hollow.
Posted inVideos
The Prospect Weekly Roundup: The Shutdown Cave and the Next Health Care Fight
David Dayen and Prospect co-founder Bob Kuttner look at the politics and policy of the end of the government shutdown.
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
The Shutdown Is Over. SNAP’s Struggles Aren’t.
Turning off the logistically complicated SNAP system—which relies on the federal government, states, and private companies to function in concert—and then trying to turn it back on quickly is no easy task.
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
The ‘Welfare Queen’ Is Back, but She Never Quite Left
The stereotype of the welfare queen, typically a single Black mother, was employed to rationalize the pause in SNAP benefits, and it proved effective.
Posted inTAP
The Shutdown’s End as a Republican Victory? No Way.
The shutdown enabled the Democrats to highlight the Republicans’ withdrawal of health coverage from millions of Americans, and Trump’s withholding food stamps—while he was praising himself for building a ballroom and rebuilding the Lincoln bathroom—only accelerated his descent in the polls.
Posted inTAP
A Blessing in Disguise?
The Republicans now own the reopening of the government on Trump’s terms, and they have a real problem when it comes to the cost crisis. Whether that helps the Democrats depends entirely on how the Democrats play it.
Posted inPolitics
One Weird Trick to Get Rid of Chuck Schumer
Multiple Democratic groups, House members, and candidates say it’s time for the Senate minority leader to go. It turns out any single Senate Democrat can force a vote on Schumer’s job.