USA: Is the federal government done?
Tonoccus McClain wrote on Facebook on October 22:
"No Speaker of the House who seriously wants to end this government shutdown would disband Congress with no firm date to return. Period.
It is simply impossible to navigate negotiations of any kind and also not be at work. In fact, not only do the actions of the Speaker more closely align with those of a person not planning to reopen the federal government anytime soon, his actions suggest he isn’t planning to reopen it at all."
Further, "by failing to publish a calendar or set a date of return, the Speaker of the House caused the House of Representatives to cease to exist as an active governing body." Johnson's "48-hour recall rule is actually a death note of paralysis dressed up as flexibility. Members are told to stay 'on standby,' ready to return to Washington within two days of notice," which is burdensome since "members juggle hundreds of staff, district obligations, and fixed travel windows. A published schedule lets them plan hearings, show up for votes, and coordinate oversight. Without that schedule, they’re forced into immobility, for fear of missing a vote entirely."
And:
"By withholding the public legislative calendar, the Speaker sealed the only real window the people have into how their government works. Without a predictable schedule to anchor responsibility, nobody knows when the government is failing in its promises or whom to blame.
When the public can’t see Congress work, they lose their most basic tool of oversight: knowing when government business happens. The House calendar decides when members must be in Washington, when votes will be held, and when committees meet. It is the frame that keeps the window clear. When a Speaker hides or shifts that calendar unpredictably, transparency vanishes, and the public can’t tell when—or even if—their representatives are working. Reporters can’t pinpoint when a missed vote, broken promise, or delayed bill should have been handled. Constituents can’t say, “You failed to vote on X last week,” because there was no published “last week.”
No votes can occur. There’s no mechanism to restart proceedings or challenge the Speaker’s schedule. The Speaker becomes the sole decider of when government acts, making criticism easy to deflect. Skipping a voicemail is far easier than facing an enraged constituent outside the Capitol."
Congress only "looks alive from the outside — members still going on CNN and FOX News, staff still answering phones and dodging constituent questions." As the shutdown wears on, "the return of what we once took for granted grows less likely, and the idea of a permanently diminished Congress begins to feel normal."
"The government isn’t “waiting to reopen.” It’s been locked shut, deliberately and indefinitely," as a "containment strategy."
Incidentally, Trump's building a new bunker
"The bunker under the East Wing will also be upgraded, sources told CBS News. The White House Military Office is handling the renovation of the bunker, which is known as the President's Emergency Operations Center." (CBS News, Oct 22)
My essay
Why we feel sad about the East Wing of the White House
