It should have been a festive day for lawmakers, but they couldn’t escape a shutdown that has no end in sight.
It’s not the way they wanted to start the 116th Congress.
On a day that should have been solely marked by ceremony and celebration, lawmakers couldn’t shake the gloom of a government shutdown that has no end in sight.
“It does put a damper on things. We’re all thinking about those people that are working without pay today, or who are furloughed,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), adding that he’s been speaking to constituents who’ve been affected by the shutdown.
It’s the first time in history that a government shutdown has dragged on from one Congress to the next, underscoring a sense of dysfunction in Washington that appears to have only intensified in the Donald Trump era.
Scores of new House Democrats arrived for their first day of work Thursday, with freshly pressed outfits and sparkling new member pins.
But instead of advancing the first pieces of their ambitious progressive agenda, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic majority were setting up Thursday night votes on legislation to reopen the federal government. That’s despite the fact that the plan has already been panned by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), ensuring the partial shutdown will drag on well past its 13th day.
“I think everybody is frustrated about the shutdown,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.). “I’ve said repeatedly it’s kind of a road to nowhere so we need to find a solution.”
But, she added, “it’s still not going to spoil the day for us and for the new people that are coming in.”
The funding lapse has left a particularly dark cloud over the heads of lawmakers who felt encouraged by the passage of so many other spending bills last year.
