It is now October 30th – the 30th day of the Federal Government shutdown. Many Federal workers have missed their first full paycheck and recipients of government benefits are about the feel the brunt of it — most notably with the 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP who are at risk of not receiving benefits they rely on next month.
As the effects ripple across the country, the political stalemate in Washington shows no signs of easing. Senate Republicans, lacking the votes to pass their budget, are stand their ground — unwilling to make any concessions to get the wheels of the government moving again.
Thankfully the third branch of government (the Judicial Branch, just to be clear) is beginning to pay attention and may even take action to insure that people don’t starve as a result as a result of government inaction.
Both parties are working double-time to convince the public that the funding lapse is the other’s fault. In my view, responsibility for this shutdown lies largely with the Republican Party — particularly the executive branch, which is using its vast platform to turn food assistance into a political weapon.
What Makes This Shutdown Different
This shutdown stands apart from previous ones — largely because of the actions taken by the executive branch both leading up to and during the crisis:
- Unreliable Negotiation Partner: The President has shown himself to be an unreliable negotiating partner, having repeatedly rescinded approved congressional spending. Democrats find it difficult trust Republican assurance, knowing that any agreement to reopen the government might be erased by a vengeful president after their votes are cast.
- Retaliation Against Federal Workers: The executive branch has goen out of their way to punish federal workers for the funding lapse, announcing layoffs as soon as shutdown began. Thankfully, that act of malice got squashed by the courts.
- Questionable Use of Funds: The administration has illegally appropriated funds to continue paying troops and accepted potentially illegal donations to pay the same — while attempting to conceal the identity of the donor from the American people. That donors name is Timothy Mellon, an heir to the Mellon banking fortune. Nepotism at its finest.
- Cruelty Toward Our Most Vulnerable: Most egregiously, the administration is now blocking the USDA from using SNAP emergency funds to continue with food assistance for approximately 44 million Americans who rely on the program to feed themselves and their children. To obscure their actions, the Trump Administration removed the “FY 2026 Lapse in Funding Plan” from the USDA website. This document outlined specifically how SNAP would be able to continue operating through a shutdown.
In other words, the Executive Branch has taken to causing distress to the populace as a method to strong-arm the opposing party into submission.
Unprecedented and unpresidential.
This is what happens when you put a party committed to not governing in charge of the government.
But at least the White House is getting a new ballroom that none of us will ever set foot in.
And, the Epstein files conveniently remain out of the headlines.
