Shutdown on Loop
Congress is once again racing the clock to avoid a government shutdown (we told you back in December to bookmark early March for this reality). This time around, GOP leadership in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate are pushing for a Continuing Resolution that would fund the government through the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2025. This approach has the support of President Donald Trump and was passed narrowly by the U.S. House on Tuesday, but is being opposed by most congressional Democrats. It remains to be seen whether the measure can be enacted before current funding runs out (it will require at least seven Democrats to support it in the U.S. Senate in order to clear that chamber).
Analysis and eternal perspective: We in The Equipped family will continue to remind ourselves of three things around these revolving government shutdown stories: 1) The federal budget and spending process of the U.S. government is fundamentally broken, 2) The perpetual loop of shutdown politics is entirely predictable and unproductive, and 3) Jesus followers in America should be part of a fruitful solution aimed at stewardship of resources rather than partisan posturing.
There is plenty of blame to go around for the current lurching from shutdown deadline to shutdown deadline. But the finger-pointing exercise simply perpetuates the current unproductive cycle. Whether you are Republican, Democrat, Independent, or politically agnostic, you can be both, a) equipped and unsurprised as each “shutdown deadline” approaches under the current status quo, and b) clear-eyed about the importance of establishing a healthier budget and spending process.
Scripture reminds us that much will be required of those who have much (Lk. 12:48). America has been given more in the way of tangible resources than any other nation the world has ever known. If you are a Jesus follower in America, you have been given much! As a steward of those blessings and a participant in your own self-governance, consider today how your voice can contribute to the repairing of this broken process.
The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.