What happens when the most basic and essential duty of our government – to simply keep itself open – becomes just another weapon in a partisan war? With a September 30 funding deadline looming, the nation is once again careening toward a government shutdown, with both parties engaged in a high-stakes, constitutional game of chicken.
This is not a story about which party is to blame for the current impasse. It is a story about the weaponization of the shutdown itself. It is a profound test of whether our constitutional system of appropriations can function in an era of extreme polarization, or if the stability of the entire federal government will now be held hostage to political brinkmanship.
A High-Stakes Reversal
The current standoff began when Senate Republicans proposed a short-term funding extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR), to keep the government open while budget negotiations continue. Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, are threatening to block that bill unless it includes their policy demands, such as an extension of Obamacare subsidies.
This is a stunning reversal from their position just six months ago. In March, facing a similar shutdown threat, Senator Schumer argued that a shutdown was a “Hobson’s choice” that would be too dangerous, as it would “give Donald Trump and Elon Musk carte blanche to destroy vital government services.” Now, his caucus appears willing to risk that very outcome to gain legislative leverage.
The Constitutional Duty to Fund the Government
This brings us to a crucial constitutional lesson. A government shutdown is not a strategic pause; it is a catastrophic failure of Congress to perform its most fundamental obligation. Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution – the Appropriations Clause – states clearly: “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.”
When Congress fails to pass appropriation laws, a post-Civil War statute called the Antideficiency Act automatically kicks in, forbidding federal agencies from spending money they don’t have. This is what forces national parks to close, federal workers to be furloughed, and vital government services to grind to a halt. It is the direct and chaotic result of a legislative failure.
A Bipartisan Failure of Governance
While Republicans are now calling out the Democrats’ “hypocritical” reversal, this crisis is a bipartisan failure. The use of a government shutdown as a bargaining chip is a destructive tactic that has been employed by both parties over the past few decades. It is a sign of a political system that has lost the ability to engage in the good-faith negotiation and compromise that is necessary to govern.
As the lone Democratic senator publicly opposing his party’s strategy, John Fetterman, warned, a shutdown would unleash “the kinds of chaos and the kinds of loss for the millions of Americans that count on” a functioning government. He correctly identifies that using a shutdown to fight the administration’s policies is not the answer.
The nation is once again on the brink of a self-inflicted wound. A government shutdown is the ultimate expression of a dysfunctional constitutional system, a moment where political brinkmanship is prioritized over the basic act of governing. This is not a failure of one party; it is a failure of our political class to live up to their most basic constitutional duty to the American people.