Nearly two weeks into the latest production of Shutdown Theater — a theatrical performance in which the US government doesn’t actually “shut down,” but some “non-essential” functions do — we’re still seeing the usual Blame The Other Party rhetoric from Republicans and Democrats alike.
My opinion has always been that the better strategy, for either party, is to claim ownership of, rather than bemoan, these shutdowns.
Instead of the same tiresome “those mean ol’ Republicans/Democrats won’t play nice” sympathy pleas, go with positional strength: “Darn right we shut some things down — we’re in control here and those things will come back after, and ONLY after, the Democrats/Republicans give us what we demand.”
In this case, the guy I’d expect to take that latter line, the guy who would benefit most from doing so, is US president Donald Trump. Two reasons why:
First, there’s zero doubt whose shutdown this is.
The Republicans control the White House.
The Republicans control the US House of Representatives.
The Republicans control the Senate, and as recently as last month, they’ve shown they’re willing to use the “nuclear option” to get things done by majority, instead of super-majority, vote.
The US government is (partially and cosmetically) shut down because the Republicans want it that way. The shutdown will end when the Republicans want it to end. It’s theirs. They own it.
They (especially Trump) would look a lot better leaning into that ownership than they sound with their 24/7 whining about the Democrats.
Second, Trump is actually doing some good things with the shutdown — things that accentuate the “ownership” angle if he’d just claim that angle.
First, the White House is questioning whether furloughed government employees are entitled to “back pay” when the shutdown ends and they return to their offices.
That seems to be a legal question, but in the private sector, it’s not a question at all. If a factory shuts down and lays off its workers, those workers don’t get paid then or later, because they’re um, NOT WORKING. They can file for unemployment benefits, or they can just wait the shutdown out while living on their savings, or they can go find other jobs, but they don’t get retroactive paid vacations for the layoff period. Why should government employees be treated any differently?
Second, the Trump administration has begun “Reduction In Force” cuts to the government employee population.
Not temporary “shutdown” layoffs with guaranteed recall, but rather “going forward, this agency can get by with a staff of 400, not 500 … best wishes for your future in the private sector!” More than 4,000 government employees have already received RIF notices.
That’s some good stuff — and where political optics are concerned, bragging about it makes more sense than trying to shift blame for it.
I’d rather the US government shut down for real, and for good — but if Trump can use this partial, temporary shutdown to trim some fat and nix the “back pay” scam, that’s better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
Thomas L. Knapp (X: @thomaslknapp | Bluesky: @knappster.bsky.social | Mastodon: @knappster) is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida.
