WASHINGTON – A deepening government shutdown is drawing sharp reactions from lawmakers as the impasse nears a third week before Thanksgiving, with Democrats appearing increasingly resolute following recent election results. The shutdown, now the longest in history, centers on funding priorities, specifically a decision to maintain funding for military payments and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while potentially curtailing assistance for approximately 42 million Americans who rely on food-assistance programs.
“The governance has chosen to not find money to fund the food-assistance program for some 42 million Americans,” CNN’s chief national-affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny reported last night. “But they have found money for military payments and ICE officers and others.That choice…is beginning to catch up with the administration and Republicans.”
The Atlantic staff writer Mark Leibovich observed a shift in Democratic resolve, stating, “Democrats seem to be much more dug in than they were before tuesday,” and adding, “I think they seem emboldened by Tuesday’s elections.”
The dynamic was discussed on Washington Week With The Atlantic, featuring The Atlantic’s editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg, alongside Leigh Ann Caldwell, chief Washington correspondent at Puck; David Ignatius, a foreign-affairs columnist at The Washington Post; Mark Leibovich; and Jeff Zeleny.
The full episode is available to watch here.
