Welcome to the 2025 edition of the shutdown. Federal operations have been severely reduced for the first time in almost seven years after the US Senate failed to approve a spending plan Tuesday night that would have maintained government funding.
Like previous shutdowns, this one will eventually come to an end. Days or weeks may pass, but one side or the other will finally give in as political agony and public pressure increase.
The seeds of their failure may have been planted when Senate Democrats rejected a Republican budget package that would have kept the government running until November.
Two Democrats and one independent, who is aligned with Democrats, supported the Republican majority, while forty-four Democrats (including Republican iconoclast Rand Paul) cast votes.
Maine’s independent Angus King is a bit of a wild card every time. For almost a year, Pennsylvanian John Fetterman has been forging his own route. Although she is hardly a liberal firebrand, Nevada’s Catherine Cortez Masto is not your average political maverick. However, she is running for reelection next year in a state that has been quietly moving toward the Republican Party for years and was won by Donald Trump in 2024.
She voiced concerns about the financial impact that government closure would have on Nevada in her statement outlining her decision. When voters become irate, she may also be concerned about the impact it could have on her electoral chances as an incumbent on the ballot.
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