White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett boldly predicted Monday that the government shutdown – now in its third week of grumpy gridlock – could fizzle out “sometime this week.” But if the Democrats keep playing hard-to-fund, the Trump administration might unleash “stronger measures” faster than you can say “furlough frustration.”
Hassett dropped this nugget sounding less like a economist and more like a weatherman hedging on rain. The shutdown, born from a Senate slugfest over federal funding, has left federal workers twiddling thumbs and taxpayers twingeing wallets.
Republicans are pushing a short-term funding fix at current levels – think of it as hitting the snooze button on the budget alarm. Democrats, however, are holding out for health-care goodies, like extending those juicy Affordable Care Act tax credits set to vanish by year’s end, because who doesn’t love a plot twist with free(ish) insurance?
Hassett spilled the Senate tea: Democrats are reportedly eyeing a post-protest window to avoid “bad optics” amid this weekend’s nationwide “No Kings” rallies against President Trump. It’s like timing your apology after the family reunion blowup – strategic, but oh-so-suspicious.
“There’s a shot that this week, things will come together, and very quickly,” Hassett quipped, painting a picture of moderate Democrats suddenly channeling their inner deal-makers. At that point, he added, we could haggle over policies the old-fashioned way: through “regular order,” which sounds boring but beats finger-pointing marathons.
He even nicknamed it the “Schumer shutdown,” a cheeky jab at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., whom Republicans finger as the funding fiasco’s fairy godmother – or villain, depending on your aisle. If it drags on, though? Cue the drama: Hassett flagged a powwow with White House budget honcho Russell Vought to brainstorm “stronger measures” that might drag Democrats kicking and screaming to the table.
Polls, those pesky public pulse-checkers, aren’t helping the GOP glow-up. They show voters mostly blaming Trump and Republicans for the mess, while cheering loud for those ACA subsidies – talk about a bipartisan bromance with health care. Democrats, sensing the political winds shifting in their favor, are digging in like beachgoers at high tide.
“Every day gets better for us,” Schumer crowed earlier this month to Punchbowl News, crediting his crystal-ball prep since Sept. 30. It’s the kind of forward-thinking that makes you wonder if he’s moonlighting as a time traveler.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., tried the olive branch last week, offering Democrats a vote on those Obamacare credits if they’d just reopen the government – a classic “you scratch my funding, I’ll scratch your subsidies” move. But top Dems swatted it away like yesterday’s doughnut, insisting Trump himself suit up for the negotiation tango.
Hassett pushed back gently: Trump’s been “very active” in the shadows, but believes the Senate grown-ups should sort their own sandbox squabbles. Fair enough – after all, why spoil a good blame game with actual bipartisanship?
As the clock ticks toward potential weekend woe, one can’t help but chuckle at the irony: a shutdown sparked by spending fights, now hinging on protest optics and poll poetry. Will Hassett’s “this week” wish come true, or are we in for more measures stronger than decaf coffee? Stay tuned – Washington’s got more acts than a budget ballet.
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