For the sixth time in just over a week, the Senate has failed to pass a government funding bill, a recurring failure that is making the shutdown feel like Washington’s new normal. The votes on Wednesday showed no shift in the political landscape, with both parties’ proposals going down in defeat, signaling a prolonged period of federal disruption and dysfunction.
As this new normal sets in, the abnormal consequences are becoming more apparent. The nation’s air travel system is operating under strain from staffing shortages, a direct result of the funding lapse. The financial normalcy of hundreds of thousands of federal workers and military families is also about to be upended by a missed paycheck.
This dysfunctional status quo is maintained by a deep ideological divide. Democrats have normalized the idea of linking government funding to their top policy priority: extending Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits. They see it as a necessary use of their legislative leverage.
Republicans, in turn, have normalized a strategy of passing short-term funding bills and using procedural hardball to challenge the Senate. Speaker Mike Johnson’s approach, which includes keeping the House in recess and launching rhetorical attacks on his opponents, has become the GOP’s standard operating procedure.
In this new normal, compromise is off the table. A bipartisan effort to find a middle ground was immediately rejected. As long as this pattern of failed votes and rigid partisanship continues, the shutdown will remain a fixture of the political landscape.
