By Douglas V. Gibbs
Government shutdowns are not government shutdowns. The term is ominous, but the truth is not. Mandatory spending does not stop, despite the cries of the Democrats and establishment hacks, and in truth if the shutdown had gone down Trump’s administration would have been in charge of deciding which government employees are not mandatory and tell them bye bye because of the shutdown. In short, a shutdown would have made it easier for Trump to do the things they are screaming about him doing.
It was a trap sprung beautifully, and the angry Democrats do not know what to do.
Chuck Schumer knew, and he let everyone know that despite the fact that the progressive lefty radicals of the Democratic Party were screaming madly their objections, he was prepared to allow cloture to be invoked on a continuing resolution that will keep the government funded through September.
The bill actually reduces spending, and it makes sure DOGE can continue its work, and illegal alien captures may continue without fear of any funding issues. The Democrats were trapped. Either way, DOGE and border security as Trump desires would continue as Trump wanted. It’s a bitter pill for Democrats because though they want to “resist,” they can’t. Trump gets what he wants no matter what happens. Schumer and any members he pulls with him understand that. Nonetheless, the less sophisticated radical progressives of his party, and the wacky hard left, are now turning against Schumer and any Democrat that sided with him because the bill passed the Senate and is headed to the desk of the President of the United States.
I have to give Schumer a little credit, here. His detractors are screaming he’s not representing his constituency as a Democrat. According to the radical fringe lefties his duty in a “democracy” is to listen to the people (despite the fact that the hard left lunacy of the radicals is only popular with less than 20% of the population). The fact is, a representative’s primary concern is not supposed to be what their constituents believe but what is most in line with the Rule of Law. The Rule of Law is “truths” that are “self-evident,” as Thomas Jefferson explains in the Declaration of Independence.
The laws of nature and of nature’s God, Jefferson also stated in the Declaration, is a part of the Rule of Law; or Natural Law as John Locke called it — making it a part of the natural order of things.
Schumer must know, but can’t admit, that reducing spending as this bill will accomplish as a law, rooting out fraud and waste in the government, and protecting our country from illegal aliens entering the country that are not someone we would accept if we vetted them is a good thing — and in line with the Rule of Law/Natural Law/Common Sense.
The Democrats who sided with Schumer and voted for cloture to bring the bill to a vote on the floor did the right thing.
The House Democrats are freaking out because they say they want a check against Elon Musk and DOGE. That, in its own right, is amazing due to the massive hypocrisy of it all. No check was demanded, no control over the President was called for, and the courts did not attempt to unconstitutionally micromanage the President regarding his job dealing with the executive branch when he was a Democrat “expanding” the government and “increasing” federal spending, yet reduction of the size, scope, and spending frenzy of the government has them in screaming fits of rage. Every President in my lifetime has complained about federal spending, has promised to reduce wasteful spending, and have vowed to go after the national debt. Yet, now that President Trump is actually acting upon that promise, they are calling him an authoritarian and are doing everything they can to oppose his actions be it through executive orders, or actions in line with information gathered by DOGE.
Which is it? Do you want an efficient government, or not?
It was all talking points to pacify the voting public, but in the end none of them planned to actually take action because they really did not want to reduce spending, cut the waste, or reduce the debt. They didn’t have the guts to make the difficult decisions of laying off workers and curtailing programs because such moves could expose the money laundering and criminalities being carried out behind the curtain. Like the Wizard in the faraway land of Oz, levers are being pulled that they would rather not be seen. They worship the bureaucracy, and the don’t believe Americans have the right to know what is going on in their government.
Except, the Constitution says otherwise…
- Article I, Section 5: Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same.
- Article I, Section 9: No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.
Congressional activities on the floor are to be published for the public to view, as must be the expenditures of federal monies.
We have to make sure we also remember an important truth. The liberal left progressives lie. When they say that DOGE is dismantling important programs administered by the federal government, in truth the Trump administration is preserving workers and programs that are vital to the operations of the federal government. If the workers or programs are not essential, if they are a waste of money or redundant, or if they believe fraud and corruption is tied to the programs…cut away. Corruption is being targeted. Waste is being targeted. Which makes me wonder: are the Democrats so angry because they are actually trying to cover up or protect their own corruption?
The executive branch belongs to the President. His job is to execute the laws of the United States, and spend the money as it is appropriated…but, as I’ve argued in the past, he’s in a real world application of spending those monies so if he believes Congress is providing too much money for a particular item or that the item is redundant, corrupt, or wasteful he can adjust how much is spent. It’s called the presidential power of impoundment.
In 1974, in a move to lash out at Nixon, Congress passed a law to take away that power, using Watergate to pressure President Richard Nixon to sign it. But, I have to ask… Can Congress use legislation to change the Constitution?
No.
The Presidential Power of Impoundment remains in force, despite screams to the contrary.
The Democrats, despite Schumer’s momentarily cry of uncle, have no constitutional argument to support their resistance, their use of the courts to try to micromanage the executive branch, or their attempt to keep him from reducing the size of the federal bureaucracy. And, with their antics, the reality is that a higher court than the federal court system is paying attention: The court of public opinion. Will the temper tantrums and antics of the Democrats backfire on them? The 2026 mid-term elections will tell us all we need to know because it will likely be a big GOP win because the Democrats have no strategy, no argument, and no way to debate reasonably in the arena of issues and politics. They lost in November of 2024 because their lies have been exposed, and they have no idea what to do other than what they’ve always done: attack, lie, and throw temper tantrums.
— Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
