Republican infighting stifled government shutdown mitigation efforts 

By Colby Etherton

At this point, Congress being incapable of reaching consensus is the standard. Increased partisanship and polarization has pretty much meant that bipartisan agreement is a thing of the past. Just a few months ago, on June 1, 2023, the government narrowly avoided default when a bill to raise the debt ceiling was signed into law. That time, the Republican Party was so at odds with each other that it was unlikely that they could reach a consensus on a bill that would’ve extended government funding. 

A government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass legislation that funds the government; should the government shut down, federal agencies have to halt all work that isn’t deemed essential. Air traffic control, law enforcement and border protection are examples of services that would continue, but across the board, millions of federal employees, including people in the military, will stop receiving paychecks until operations resume, when they’ll then be back-paid. A shutdown could potentially impact national parks, health services, food services, a large portion of the FAA’s Transportation Department being furloughed and more. 

Republicans were unable to come to a consensus on a short-term bill, due to the far-right wing of the party demanding a stop to aid to Ukraine, deeper spending cuts and heightened border security policies. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been placed in a difficult position of catering to multiple factions within his own party, as part of the conditions of his skeptics voting for him to have speakership was that it would only take one member of Congress to put forth a motion to remove him from said speakership. After the debt ceiling was raised in June based on a bipartisan deal between Democrats and Republicans, the far-right members of the House denounced McCarthy for caving and giving what they perceived as a win to Democrats. 

Elsewhere

President Biden made an unprecedented move on Sept. 26, 2023, in joining the picket line for the United Auto Workers strike. It’s virtually unheard of for a sitting president and a part of Biden’s attempt to cast himself as the most pro-union president in the nation’s history. Former president Donald Trump skipped the second GOP debate that was held on Sept. 27, 2023 to visit the striking workers as well, holding a rally to speak to hundreds of autoworkers. The president of the United Auto Workers union, Shawn Fain, denounced Trump’s visit. The UAW has notably not endorsed Biden’s reelection efforts. 

Currently, labor unions are enjoying high public favorability, in part due to a number of high-profile strikes such as the UAW strike and writers’ and actors’ strikes in Hollywood. In the case of the auto industry, profits almost doubled this past decade, yet CEO pay increase has far outpaced pay increases of autoworkers. 

It’s unclear how Biden putting his thumb on the scale will impact the UAW strike, but a sitting president actively taking a side in the dispute is nothing short of a bold move.