Trump and House GOP threaten another costly government shutdown

Former President Donald Trump and several Republicans in Congress are pushing to force a federal government shutdown this fall unless Democrats agree to legislation that would make it harder to vote. During his term in office, Trump presided over the longest partial shutdown in U.S. history; it lasted 34 days, between Dec. 22, 2018 and Jan. 25, 2019.

Funding for the federal government is set to expire Sept. 30. Trump has been pushing GOP lawmakers to refuse to extend funding past that time, NBC News reported on Sept. 4, unless the Democratic-led Senate simultaneously approves the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a Republican-backed bill that would require citizens to provide specific forms of identification to prove their eligibility to vote and would increase voter roll purges.  

The SAVE Act passed in the Republican-led House of Representatives in July 221-198, with all 216 Republicans present and five Democrats voting in favor, but has not come up in the Senate.

“I would shut down the government in a heartbeat if they don’t get it,” Trump told right-wing podcaster Monica Crowley on Aug. 29, also suggesting that Republicans should demand border security measures. “If you can’t get the borders right and if you can’t get the elections right, you ought to close it up. Just close it up and let it sit.” 

Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy, the bill’s sponsor, claims it is needed to curb noncitizen voting, which is already illegal and statistically almost nonexistent. 

Michael Waldbaum, the president and CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law, told Congress in May that the bill would undermine election integrity by making it impossible for about 13 million U.S. citizens to participate in elections, especially women who changed their names when they got married. “This would impose stringent restrictions and steep costs for little benefit,” Waldbaum warned.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) hopes to couple a six-month stopgap spending bill with the SAVE Act, Punchbowl News reported on Sept. 4. That strategy has been endorsed by the right-wing House Freedom Caucus.

In an Aug. 12 statement, the group called for Congress to pass all 12 appropriations bills or a stopgap bill through early 2025. “Furthermore, the Continuing Resolution should include the SAVE Act – as called for by President Trump – to prevent non-citizens from voting to preserve free and fair elections in light of the millions of illegal aliens imported by the Biden-Harris administration over the last four years.”

Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Mike Lee (R-UT) said Sept. 4 that if Senate Democrats don’t agree to those demands, a shutdown would be Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s fault.

Over the past several decades, House Republicans have repeatedly attempted to use government shutdowns for leverage to force Democratic administrations to accept GOP policy priorities. 

If the government shuts down, it will be unable to operate vital programs beyond the most essential of functions, and federal workers will receive no pay. Food safety inspections will be halted, the Social Security Administration will be unable to process new claims, and veterans will not have access to services. 

Shutdowns also do significant damage to the economy. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated in January 2019 that the shutdown under Trump lowered that quarter’s real GDP by about $8 billion.

Even some Republicans say the strategy is flawed. According to Axios, aides to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are warning that trying to attach the SAVE Act to the stopgap bill might backfire and could open the door for Democrats to attach other measures.