Tomorrow will mark 21 days that the federal government has been partially shut down because Senate Democrats refuse to approve a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government for a short term.
It's a clean CR, one that neither adds nor subtract from the budget.
But Democrats are holding out because they want to add another $1.5 trillion in spending. For that reason it's referred to as the Schumer shutdown, after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat.
As a result, tomorrow government workers will not have been paid for three full weeks, including members of the U.S. armed forces.
Last week a measure was introduced that would have kept at least the military paid. But it failed, after "many Democrats argued the Senate should instead focus on a deal to end the shutdown," Politico reported.
But they already have "a deal to end the shutdown" — a clean continuing resolution.
As an old Toyota TV commercial went, “you asked for it, you got it.” But it’s not enough for them.
Entire federal programs have also been cut. Last week a former NYPD chief blasted President Trump for cuts to federal counterterrorism funding.
"Taking this money away, it endangers Americans all across this country, I find it has a catastrophic-type touch,” ex-NYPD Chief Terry Monahan told MSNBC's Katy Tur Thursday.
"It really puts all Americans in trouble."
That program may be refunded after Senate Democrats come to their senses and agree to keep the government humming along — but not all programs will be refunded, according to Trump.
The president appeared on "Sunday Morning Futures" yesterday and revealed that Democrats may be cutting their own, big-government throats. But first he had a few things to get off his chest.
"We have a deal. We just want an extension. And the reason we want an extension is because you can't make a deal with these people. They're lunatics. They're gone crazy. They're crazed people," he told host Maria Bartiromo.
"Trump derangement syndrome. There really is that disease. At first, I found it to be amusing. Now, I find there really is — they want $1.5 trillion for healthcare for illegal aliens.
"If we do that, it will jeopardize the health care of the citizens of our country. So we’re not going to do that."
He went on to explain that Democrats are killing their own careers through their own weak leadership.
"The Democrats are kamikazes right now. They're kamikaze pilots right now. They have nothing going. They have no future," Trump added.
Then he explained how that will be their own undoing, by giving him the power to freeze funding of various programs during a prolonged shutdown — and do so permanently.
"They didn't realize that that gives me the right to cut programs that Republicans never wanted — you know, giveaways, welfare programs," he said.
"And we’re doing that. We're cutting them permanently."
The issue of whether the president actually has the power to permanently defund federal programs is one that may eventually end up on the U.S. Supreme Court docket.
But it also brings to mind an old saying.
The adage "be careful what you ask for" is a warning that a wish, if granted, could lead to an outcome that is worse or different than expected.
In this case Senate Democrats want to keep the government closed in hope of increasing federal programs.
They may instead end up with a smaller, leaner, more efficient government.
Be careful what you ask for, Democrats; you just may get it in the end.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and is a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He's also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and a Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.
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