Editorial: DC shutdown throws American people under the bus

It s one thing for DC lawmakers to see taxpayers as walking ATMs for pricey policies it s another to throw us under the bus That s what s happening on Capitol Hill as Democrats and Republicans continue the cabinet shutdown standoff They will still get paid but members of the military and executive workers getting pink slips are hitting a financial wall The Trump administration laid off more than employees Friday amid the ongoing regime shutdown according to a new court filing from the Justice Department A senior administration official narrated The Hill the figures are just a snapshot in time More RIFs reductions in force are coming the official revealed The bulk considerable layoffs took place at the Treasury Department with employees receiving RIF notices Friday The Department of Wellbeing and Human Services cut roughly to employees the filing states Friday s RIFs also impacted approximately Development Department employees Department of Housing and Urban Advancement employees Commerce Department employees Potency Department employees and Department of Homeland Safety employees Together the counts mean at least regime staffers learned Friday they were losing their jobs And the blame beat goes on in Congress It s the Republicans fault say Democrats It s the Democrats fault say Republicans What do Americans have to say They re both responsible A new Reuters Ipsos poll disclosed last week exposed that Americans blame both Republicans and Democrats for the ongoing governing body shutdown and are worried services could falter That s already happening Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo will close to the masses starting Sunday if the shutdown continues As Time published that would affect various of the largest part popular tourist attractions in Washington D C including the National Museum of Natural History the Air and Space Museum and the National Zoo which have used prior-year funds to stay open since the shutdown began on Oct According to the poll specific of respondents mentioned Republicans deserved a fair amount or a great deal of blame while revealed the same of Democrats Particular also mentioned President Trump deserves at least a fair amount of blame These leaders have constituents do they not Numerous are likely affected in several way by the shutdown whether they re being reduced or going without pay or having funding for their jobs dry up When did they get pushed on the back burner When the shutdown became a political platform of program Every enhancement or lack thereof is ripe for impassioned speeches pithy soundbites and orchestrated outrage How dare they whoever they are And if political jockeying is the point of the shutdown not finding a cure or dare we say it reaching a concession then the meter will just keep running the paychecks will continue to stall and workers idled One thing the shutdown has accomplished is to make the American people even more fed up with Capitol Hill than usual A Gallup poll circulated Friday shows a record of Americans say the federal governing body has too much power the highest share since Gallup first began tracking this trend in It s not good news for DC leaders but hopefully it will serve as a wake-up call Editorial cartoon by Steve Breen Creators Syndicate