Shutdown showdown
Big thought, small step, deep breath — for March 12, 2025
BIG THOUGHT
The fight over the power of the purse
“No taxation without representation!”
There’s a reason that was the rallying cry for the American Revolution: the colonists didn’t appreciate being cut out of decisions about the “money affairs” that impacted their lives. That’s why the question of who would control the power of the purse was so central to the architects of the Constitution. As they saw it, democratic control of spending went hand-in-hand with the whole “no kings” thing. As James Madison put it in Federalist No. 58:
“This power over the purse may, in fact, be regarded as the most complete and effectual weapon with which any constitution can arm the immediate representatives of the people, for obtaining a redress of every grievance, and for carrying into effect every just and salutary measure.”
Empowering Elon Musk to control federal spending is obviously not what Madison had in mind.
Yesterday the House passed a continuing resolution, a so-called “stopgap” budget meant to keep the government operating through September 30. That now goes to the Senate, where if a budget measure isn’t approved, the government will have to shut down on Friday, March 14.
For weeks, House Speaker Mike Johnson has been doing his best to cast the inevitable Democratic opposition to his budget plan as obstructionism, because he feared he wouldn’t be able to get the most libertarian-minded House Republicans onboard. But in the end, he only lost a single vote, anti-spending absolutist Thomas Massie of Kentucky. House Democrats were united against the bill, with one exception, Maine’s Jared Golden, who thought a shutdown would be worse than any Republican budget. Institutionalism!
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, as we’ve come to expect, laid out exactly why, framing the funding battle explicitly as a fight against impoundment — and arguing that Johnson’s proposing a bad-faith budget that doesn’t represent the people — that amounts to no more than a blank check for Musk.
Again, not at all what Madison had in mind.
But that may well have gotten House Republicans in line. JD Vance argued that Congressional Republicans could vote for the budget without worry because the White House would simply ignore it, asking that Congress remove itself — and by proxy the American people — from the process of governing. It’s an argument that had obvious appeal for a party that just abandoned town halls out of fear of hearing criticism — largely about DOGE defunding of critical institutions —from its constituents.
[Vance] assured Republican members that Trump would continue cutting federal funding with his Department of Government Efficiency initiative and pursue impoundment — that is, holding back money appropriated by Congress. [Politico]
Impoundment, as we discussed earlier this year, is when the executive branch refuses to spend money the legislative branch has already allocated, usurping the power of the purse. A coup, in so many words.
And while it’s a go-to tactic of the Trump II regime (that’s what the agency funding freezes and “deletions” and DOGE “efficiency” efforts are all about), it’s a bad thing. There’s even a law against using it save in limited circumstances, passed after Nixon’s repeated abuse of the practice.
You may recall that back during Trump’s first term, one of the reasons he was impeached the first time around was that he’d withheld $391 million of aid to Ukraine — already approved by Congress — without justification (the point was to force Volodymyr Zelensky to open an “investigation” into Joe Biden). Impeachable offense then, now it’s just another Tuesday.
With the House bill moving on, now it comes down to whether or not the Senate Democrats decide to fight. They may be in the minority, but they can still make trouble. The budget bill is subject to the filibuster, so it would take 60 votes to overcome that procedure or to pass it outright in the Senate. For that to happen, eight institutional-minded Democrats would be needed (assuming Senator Rand Paul votes against it as expected).
That’s dangerous, because there are plenty of institutionalist Democrats who may not want to take the risk — and suffer the electoral fallout — of being blamed for a shutdown. But it’s also a real opportunity for Democrats who seize the opportunity to push back against Elon Musk. And maybe get some control of the narrative, framing what Vance and the House Republicans are offering as unconstitutional, and un-American.
Democrats could, for instance, demand that Musk’s government role be spelled out, or an amendment placing clear limits on DOGE’s power. They could refuse to pass anything but a so-called “clean” continuing resolution to support basic functions of government in the short term.
Now, a filibuster is no sure thing, but even if Senate Democrats are unsuccessful, they can hammer home the points that Rep. Crockett has been making so clearly. Senator Elizabeth Warren, for instance, has been calling attention to the dangers of the budget as presented — namely, that it opens the door to making impoundment the default way the government spends money. The people’s money:
[I]t wipes out the guardrails that Congress wrote for how to spend taxpayer money. That means that Trump and Musk can hold everyone under their magic spell—they can spend taxpayer money or shut off taxpayer money however they want.
In short, they could make it clear to Americans that what Trump and Musk are doing — defunding the institutions they rely on — amounts to a government shutdown anyway. And hang it on the Republicans, no matter how the vote shakes out. All the more reason to put up a fight.
For now, Senate Democrats have been keeping their cards close to their chests on how they’ll vote. Call them this week to make sure they do the right thing.
SMALL STEP
Canaries in the coal mine
The people on the front lines of a shutdown — whether that’s a failure to pass a budget or just the day-to-day chaos of DOGE deletions of agencies and positions — are federal workers. And they’re the canaries in the coal mine, because DOGE is coming for all workers — and all Americans. To counter that, as Federal Unionists Network organizer Chris Dols told us last month, it’s critical to build a broad-based mass participation movement. And FUN is now bringing its message to a broader audience.
If you want to hear more about what they’re up to and how you can get involved, FUN is organizing a mass Save our Services call this Thursday, March 13, at 8 p.m. Eastern. So sign up today, and hear from labor leaders, Senator Chris Murphy, Rep. Greg Casar and others about their national campaign of actions to defend labor and fight Elon Musk’s hostile takeover of the American government.
DEEP BREATH
One in your dreams
We may have said this before, but we’re pretty sure that jazz is America’s greatest homegrown art form, and maybe the clearest argument that making it up as you go along can be the way to the sublime. And that’s well worth keeping in mind in these times.
So grab another coffee, take ten minutes of your morning, and watch three masters of the form — guitarist Bill Frisell, bassist Thomas Morgan, and drummer Rudy Royston — take on the John Barry/Leslie Bricusse-penned Bond theme defined by Nancy Sinatra and turn it into something magical and strange.
A programming note: We’re going Live again!
Tomorrow, Thursday, March 13, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern we’ll be speaking with the visionary writer, thinker, and activist Rebecca Solnit. You won’t want to miss this one, so mark your calendars. We hope to see everyone there!
To join and watch, download the Substack app (click on the button below) and turn on notifications — you’ll get an alert that we’re live and you can watch from your iOS or Android mobile device. And if you haven’t already, subscribe to The Ink to access full videos of past conversations and to join the chat during our live events.
Our elected reps need to step up. I'm picturing one of those old films where the invading enemy is climbing up ladders in an effort to capture a castle under seige. What do those tasked with keeping them out do? Duck and hide, or stand and fight, as best they can and even against all odds, even at the cost of their lives, in order to protect the mass of people who've crowded inside the castle, BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO DO, their reason for being. This is a new situation, a dangerous situation. Cowardice be damned.
Why is it even a choice? Dems we require a NO vote!!