In a shutdown, all non-essential federal functions, such as national parks, are closed and employees furloughed.
In the United States, a federal government shutdown looks inevitable on Saturday night. The closure is scheduled to start at midnight east coast time, i.e. at seven in the morning on Sunday Finnish time.
In a shutdown, almost all federal functions, such as national parks, are closed and employees are furloughed. Only functions defined as essential will continue. The administration was last closed in 2019.
The closure has often been avoided at the last minute, but this time there was very little hope for a last-minute agreement. Its obstacle was the extreme wing of the Republican Party, which was not inclined to compromise. On Friday, it stalled in the House of Representatives to continue funding the party’s own plan.
Rebellious Republicans justified blocking the continuation of the funding, among other things, by saying that they are opposed to what they consider to be large government spending. However, the lock will also be expensive.
According to a report by the think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, the US gross domestic product will decrease by 0.2 percent per week in the short term. In the longer term, the effects grow larger.
McCarthy has only bad options
Republicans have a narrow majority in the House of Representatives. The party can usually afford to lose only four votes from its own ranks in order to get things passed without the support of the Democrats.
Because of this setup, a small group of far-right Republicans is often in a precarious position and able to hold the entire party hostage. This time there were more than 20 rebels, so an agreement was not even close.
When the Republicans can’t seem to get their ranks straight, the Speaker of the House, a Republican by Kevin McCarthy the best chance to keep the money taps open would seem to be cooperation with the Democrats.
If he goes for it, it could cost him the speakership. Then the extremes of McCarthy’s own party can turn against him once and for all and he will be voted out of the Speaker’s seat.