12/17/2018
No money left to keep the government open. It could be reality just before the holidays. Fox’s Chad Pergram has more with “The Speaker’s Lobby.”
I�m Chad Pergram with the Speaker�s Lobby.
A partial government shutdown looms later this week.
Nine of 15 cabinet departments and dozens of agencies run out of money at 11:59:59 pm this Friday if Congress doesn�t act.
So, you�d think lawmakers would be sweating things out trying to cut a last minute deal.
Hardly.
The House of Representatives finished up Thursday afternoon and won�t hold any votes until 5:30 pm Eastern Time Wednesday just two and a quarter days before the shutdown.
The Senate isn�t considering government spending either turning instead to a criminal justice reform bill.
Everyone is dug in. In addition, all elements, except the border wall are resolved in the seven outstanding appropriations bills.
This is a pressure tactic where Congressional leaders shrink the time frame to work something out in an effort to carve a deal.
It�s kind of like the Stockholm Syndrome.
Lawmakers and staff don�t want to be in Washington for the holidays. So the leaders bring everyone back just before Christmas and after a while, the Congressional �hostages� start to sympathize with their captors.
They�ll vote for anything just to jet out of Washington and rush back home to their families for Christmas.
With the Speaker�s Lobby, Chad Pergram. Fox News
