In the end, it plays Chapar. The United States is from shortly before six in the morning (Spanish time) plunged into a new cycle of uncertainty that adds to the unpredictable way of governing the Republican. The President and Congress have not achieved this morning to reach an agreement to maintain programs and services in operation before the deadline on Wednesday. For now the closure is partial and affects non -essential services, but that could compromise other functions of the central administration if the legislative blockade is extended. Between 2018 and 2019, Trump himself already faced a situation so it lasted 35 days.
It is now expected that approximately 750,000 federal employees will be temporarily suspended, but some of them will be potentially fired by the Trump administration, which will take advantage of, something that it promised in the campaign and is complying, ending entire departments such as the USAID. Part of those who leave with this block will not return, many offices will close, perhaps permanently, since Trump promises to “do irreversible things, bad” as reprisal.
It is also expected that their deportation agenda will advance to full march, while education, the environment and other services stagnates. The economic consequences, unpredictable at this time, will be extended nationwide at a time when unemployment and inflation data begin to light alerts, partly in response to their tariff policy.
“We do not want it to close,” Trump said in the White House before the midnight deadline. But the president, who met privately with the leaders of Congress this week on several occasions, in the end has been unable to negotiate any agreement between Democrats and Republicans to avoid that result. It is not, of course, the greatest own or party merit, to negotiate and be flexible. The, on the other hand, have understood that this is a battle that must be given, despite the consequences.
This is the third time that Trump presides over a period of scarcity of federal funds and the first since his return to the White House this year, in a remarkable record that underlines the polarizing division on budgetary priorities and the general political climate, which rewards hard line positions instead of more traditional commitments. Almost all US presidents have had to face such a vote, but in the end the agreements ended up arriving. Over the years, less and less, because radicalization grows.
Democrats have chosen this battle, something unusual for a party that prefers to keep the government in operation, but their voters are anxious for. Democrats demand funds for health subsidies that are expiring for millions of people under the affordable health care law, which triggers the cost of insurance premiums throughout the country, that is their main battle horse. Republicans have refused to negotiate for now and have urpsed Trump to avoid any conversation with the opposition. After the meeting at the White House, the president published, in which he made fun of the Democratic leadership, widely criticized: as little, for little serious, but also by racist, directly.
What none of the parties has devised, Ay, is an easy escape route to avoid what could become a prolonged closure, because of how fierce the positions are. The ramifications will surely extend beyond the political sphere, disrupting the lives of Americans who depend on the government for the payment of benefits, employment contracts and the various services that are mired in confusion.
“That in which the government spends money is a demonstration of the priorities of our country,” Rachel Snyderman, former Budget Function of the White House and General Director of Economic Policy of Bipartisan Policy Center, a group of experts in Washington. The closures, he said, “only cause economic costs, fear and confusion throughout the country.”
The economic waves of this decision, of this division, could feel in a matter of days. The government is expected to publish its monthly employment report on Friday, but it could be delivered or not. Financial markets in general have shrugged during the previous closures, according to an analysis of Goldman Sachs, this could be different in part because there are no broader negotiation signs. “There are also few good analogies with the possible closure of this week,” says the analysis, released by the same agency.
Throughout the government, the preparations have been in motion for days. The Trump Administration and Budget Office ordered the agencies to execute plans not only for temporary licenses, such as regular during a federal funds, but also for mass layoffs of federal employees. Reducing the size of the federal government is part of the Trump administration mission, including its government efficiency department.
What closes and what not?
Medicare and Medicaid medical care programs are expected to continue, although the shortage of public personnel could cause delays in some services ,. The Pentagon would continue to function. And most employees will remain in their positions in the Department of National Security.
But Trump warned that the administration could focus on programs that are important for Democrats, “eliminating a large number of people, eliminating things they like, eliminating programs they like.”
While the agencies urgently determine which workers are essential, Smithsonian museums are expected to remain open at least until Monday, no more. A group of former national parks’ parks urged the Trump administration to close the parks to visitors, arguing that, during a closure, parks with insufficient personnel represent a danger to the public and put the park’s resources at risk.
The problem is not only the immediate, but there is no easy solution. Before the start of the fiscal year, today, the Republicans of the House of Representatives had approved a temporary financing bill, despite the opposition of the Democrats, to keep the government working until mid -November while the broader negotiations continue.
But that bill has repeatedly failed in the Senate, even late on Tuesday. A threshold of 60 votes for approval is required, which requires cooperation between both parties. A democratic bill also failed. With a republican majority of 53-47, the Democrats are using their votes to demand negotiation.
The leader of the majority of the Senate, John Thune, has declared that Republicans are willing to discuss the issue of medical care with the Democrats, but not as part of the negotiations to maintain the open government. More votes are expected on Wednesday. The confrontation is a political evidence for the Senate Democratic leader, who has received the contempt of a restless base of the left voters who press the party to remain firm in their demands for financing health care. “The Americans are suffering the highest costs,” said Schumer after the failed vote on Tuesday.
The president of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, sent the legislators home almost two weeks after having approved the project of republican law, blaming the Democrats for the closure. “They want to fight Trump,” Johnson said Tuesday. “Many good people will be harmed by this.”
Trump, during his meeting with the leaders of the Congress, expressed his surprise for the reach of the increase in the costs of medical care, but the Democrats were left without a way to the conversations.
During Trump’s first mandate, the country suffered its longest closure in history, 35 days, due to its demands that Congress refused to provide to build its fiscal border wall between the United States and Mexico.
In 2013, the Government closed for 16 days during the Presidency of Obama due to the demands of the Republican Party to repeal and replace the affordable medical care law, also known as Obamacare. Other closures date from decades. The country has experience and this is not the end of the world, but an important headache and, perhaps, durable.
