A Government Shutdown, Weaponized

"Doesn't really sound like the same guy, does it? This time, it took Trump fewer than 24 hours to turn a shutdown into a weapon wielded against the civil servants he once praised and the opposing party he has long derided. The administration has targeted Democratic districts, announcing holds on more than $25 billion in projects in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, and elsewhere, with more cuts believed to be on the way."

"Trump has threatened to fire government workers en masse, casting the lapse in funding that led to their furloughs as an "opportunity" to further decimate their ranks and gut agencies he doesn't like. Officials have defied ethics guidelines, with blatantly partisan out-of-office messaging and banners blaming Democrats for the shutdown splashed across government websites. This is what happens when a partial closure of the government meets the president's second-term campaign to expand his powers and punish his enemies."

Thirty-four days into the 2019 government shutdown, President Donald Trump praised federal employees and later signed legislation to reopen the government, restoring back pay. In the current shutdown, the administration turned funding lapses into a political weapon within 24 hours, targeting Democratic districts with holds on more than $25 billion in projects across multiple states. The president threatened mass firings of government workers and framed furloughs as an opportunity to shrink agencies. Administration officials posted partisan messages and banners blaming Democrats, defying ethics expectations. The shutdown created uncertainty, with some Republicans uneasy and some Democrats reconsidering the costs of continuing the standoff.

Read at The Atlantic