Discussion Thread: 2025 US Government Shutdown, Day 37

8 comments

1. inb4 something something air traffic controllers, something something richie rich, something something people are mad

2. And on the 37th day of shut down the Republicans gave to meee

   Flights sitting on the tarmaacc

3. Pro traveller tip: To avoid airports with flight cancellations only fly out of airports used to deport immigrants, because you know *those* control towers will *always* be fully manned.

   /s

4. TSA employee here, the amount of calls in we got today is unprecedented. Get to your flights early cause its gonna be a long day.

   Only half the projected staffing at my airport at least

5. We’re in uncharted territory now I suppose.

6. I can’t believe that after all this shit about US paying for everybody’s security, you guys have the balls to ask us to feed your soldiers.

   Maybe European countries don’t spend 10 billions in « explosive detectors » that don’t work, but at least our troops aren’t doing the queue at US bank foods

7. We need to actively brand this as the “Trump-Epstein Shutdown” and call it that whenever given the opportunity. That’s what it is and people need to be reminded of that as it drags on.

   An additional benefit is that while hyphenating the names is subtle, it ties them even more closely together. That’s worth leaning into.

   If headlines start calling it the Trump-Epstein Shutdown, that would be a huge win IMO.

8. Moving in from the weekend I was optimistic that we’d see resolution by the end of this week given the fact the Senate is practically only in session for 7 more days this month (today, tomorrow, 17th – 21st). Resolution before 2026 is looking increasingly unlikely, so it got me thinking that maybe this is all completely manufactured to be a strategic restructuring of the Government. Wall of text incoming…

   **Policy outcomes without legislation:**

   Lapse in funding for SNAP, WIC, ACA mirrors policy goals that have been debated for years. These are realized through the shutdown with zero need to pass any legislation. The shutdown functions as a procedural mechanism for a programmatic rollback.

   **Strategic Constraints of the Democratic Party**

   They are operating entirely on moral framing, i.e., staunch defenders of federal programs affected by the shutdown and healthcare for the people, but they are essentially powerless to stop any of it without control of the House/Senate and Presidency. Their leverage depends on public opinion and procedural resistance (filibuster). The former can be volatile and the GOP is clearly unfazed by the latter since they have shown 0 interest in pushing forth anything besides the standing House approved C.R.

   They are in a bind with no reasonable way out of it.

   Option 1 is to agree to the standing C.R. to alleviate shutdown pain, but risk being perceived as having conceded without securing meaningful reform and undermining their moral stance and public credibility. To boot, the GOP will hammer home that the filibuster was for naught and this pain could have ended weeks ago.

   Or option 2 is to continue to hold the filibuster and demand changes, but face mounting blame (real or perceived) for prolonging the shutdown, especially if public sentiment shifts or internal unity fractures.

   Either way, the GOP’s policy objectives are met and they know when the dust settles the Democratic party will shoulder a sizable weight of the blame.

   **Federal Workforce Reduction via Reclassification:**

   Since taking office, Trump and the GOP have frequently characterized the federal workforce as bloated and inefficient. The shutdown facilitates a gradual reduction of the federal workforce without requiring layoff or restructuring.

   It creates the conditions that enable long-term changes to the composition of the federal workforce. As civil service positions remain unfilled due to hiring freezes, agencies gain discretion to reclassify roles as “inherently commercial,” allowing them to contract (privatize) functions previously performed by federal employees.

   The resulting transition: fewer career federal employees, more contracted labor, and a redefinition of what functions are considered core to government versus those deemed commercially viable.

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