Mass confusion over Trump's endgame as Washington barrels toward shutdown, economic crisis
Source: Washington Post
Mass confusion over Trump’s endgame as Washington barrels toward shutdown, economic crisis
White House officials have been mum on Trump’s demands, leaving Democrats and Republicans to try and parse his tweets as Monday deadline looms
By Jeff Stein and Toluse Olorunnipa
12/27/2020, 4:05:59 p.m.
As President Trump rapidly approached a Monday deadline to avert a government shutdown, aides and lawmakers appeared flummoxed about his strategy, left to interpret musings from his Twitter feed while he golfed and otherwise remained out of public view.
A large spending bill that Congress passed last week must be signed into law by midnight on Monday in order to prevent many federal agencies from dramatically scaling back their operations. After Congress passed the bill, Trump posted a video on Twitter announcing his objections to it, claiming stimulus benefits were too small and that foreign aid was too excessive.
Since he posted the video on Dec. 22, White House aides have not offered any public briefings on Trump’s strategy or plans. Instead, Trump has issued a series of tweets reiterating his demand for changes but not saying much more. Vice president Mike Pence is in Vail, Colo. and has also been out of sight in recent days.
The consequences of inaction are immense.
Starting Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of federal employees would be sent home without pay. And even the many federal employees who continue to work because they are deemed “essential,” such as members of the military, will not be paid until a new funding bill is authorized.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/12/27/trump-stimulus-shutdown-congress/
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