Our nation is again facing shutdown Groundhog Day. By a Sept. 30 deadline, Congress must either fund government operations or bring a halt to many critical federal programs while sidelining hundreds of thousands of federal employees and forcing others, uniformed and civilian, to work without pay.
This latest in a long string of yearly budget standoffs comes at a particularly perilous time, one in which President Donald Trump has brazenly usurped congressional authority by unilaterally shutting down agencies and programs he dislikes. He has withheld congressionally approved funds, fired so many employees that agencies cannot perform many of their normal functions, directed government resources to attack political enemies and benefit his financial interests, and chosen not to enforce laws he disfavors.
