WASHINGTON — Judging by the behavior of the country’s leaders, it would be hard to tell the longest-ever full government shutdown was even happening.
The House hasn’t been in session in more than a month, an unprecedented and controversial decision by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to shutter all legislative business amid the standoff.
The Senate is deeply entrenched and barely working, taking doomed votes and leaving town every weekend. And the president is totally disengaged, focusing instead on demolishing parts of the White House complex to build a grand ballroom. He’s set to leave the country on Friday evening for a major five-day trip to Asia.
“All decisions come on the Republican side now from Donald Trump and the fact that Trump’s gonna leave town? What about the whole, like, ‘put America first’ junk?” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said on Thursday.
Asked about Democrats calling on Trump to step in and make a deal to end the shutdown, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters, “Good luck.”
