Shutdown Hearted

“During the first eight months of his second presidency, Donald Trump has tried to hollow out the federal workforce by any means possible, including paying more than 200,000 people not to work, disassembling entire agencies via the Department of Government Efficiency, and fighting in court any effort by employees to hang on to their job. This week, Trump could try his most audacious move yet: using a government shutdown to conduct mass firings.” The Atlantic (Gift Article): Trump’s Grand Plan for a Government Shutdown.

+ The big question for now is whether the Dems hold the line and try to defend health care (and whether or not, in this environment and with their current messengers, that message can even break through). Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries face a big leadership test in the shutdown fight.