Lawmakers in Washington are facing the looming threat of a government shutdown as they return from recess. The House and Senate have until Friday to pass a funding deal to prevent a partial shutdown, but as of now, no agreement has been reached.
This pattern of legislative gridlock has been a recurring theme in the 118th Congress. The deadline for approving funding was missed on October 1st, leading to a short-term extension that ultimately cost former Speaker Kevin McCarthy his position. The current Speaker, Johnson, has had to repeatedly postpone decisions, pushing deadlines from October to January, then to March.
