Dems, GOP Find Trump Gov’t Shutdown a Political Necessity: Yahoo Finance

The growing sense in Washington is that the latest government funding fight between Republicans and Democrats is shaping up differently.

Whether it causes Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and others to blink remains to be seen, but the new threat is just one factor Democrats are weighing. (Photo: Victoria Pickering Flickr)

And why things may be more likely to end in a shutdown is simple: not only are both parties OK with a funding stoppage, but some partisans even view going through with it as an opportunity or political necessity, writes Ben Werschkul in an analysis for Yahoo Finance.

Markets, meanwhile, have grown accustomed to tuning out Washington’s regular displays of brinkmanship.

But Wall Street may turn to the issue in earnest starting Monday, when lawmakers return with less than 48 hours before a partial government shutdown could take effect on Oct. 1 at 12:01 a.m. ET.

The latest sign that the current funding fight is playing out differently — with political pressure pushing toward shutdown — came late Wednesday when President Trump’s White House asked federal agencies to consider mass firings as part of their shutdown planning efforts.

It’s a way for Trump’s team to accomplish previously unrelated goals — often championed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — in a different manner, with the memo saying firings could be focused on areas “not consistent with the president’s priorities.”

It was also a move intended to increase pressure on Democrats.

Whether it causes Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and others to blink remains to be seen, but the new threat is just one factor Democrats are weighing, as they often note a shutdown is one of their vanishingly few points of leverage.