Old Glory, blue sky: Glynn Wilson

By Glynn Wilson –

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Republicans are playing with political fire by threatening to shut down the federal government again Friday, this time all in the name of attempting to defund the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate applying to the private sector, according to Politico‘s inside sources.

The vast majority of Americans support vaccines and mask wearing, while only the far right Trump supporters still oppose reasonable public health measures, especially with the new novel coronavirus Omicron variant spreading fast around the world out of Africa.

“Conservatives on both sides of the Capitol are privately plotting to force a government shutdown Friday in an effort to defund the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate on the private sector,” Politico‘s Playbook reported Wednesday morning in an email blast.

Trying to capitalize politically on a last-minute scramble to fund the United States government, a group of Senate conservatives is planning to object to quick consideration of a continuing resolution to extend funding into early 2022 — unless Democratic leaders agree to deny money to enforce the mandate, which of course they are not going to do.

Because of the tight schedule — and Senate rules that require unanimous consent to move quickly — the senators believe they’ll be able to drag out the process well past midnight Friday, when funding officially expires.

“I’m sure we would all like to simplify the process for resolving the CR, but I can’t facilitate that without addressing the vaccine mandates,” Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, said in a statement. “Given that federal courts across the country have raised serious issues with these mandates, it’s not unreasonable for my Democratic colleagues to delay enforcement of the mandates for at least the length of the continuing resolution.”

It’s unclear how many Senate conservatives are publicly willing to follow through on the shutdown threat, Politico reports. But 15 of them signed a letter in early November spearheaded by Senator Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas, vowing to “use all means at our disposal” — including invoking Senate procedures to gum up the works — to block passage of a continuing resolution that doesn’t stop implementation of a vaccine mandate.

Technically, all they need is one senator to object in order to push past Friday’s midnight deadline, and several are already discussing this issue, even though Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Republican from Kentucky, said Tuesday: “We won’t shut down.”

“Nobody should be concerned about a government shutdown,” McConnell said.

He’s never been a fan of shutdown tactics, according to Politico, and is making the case that such a move would only backfire on the conservative, Republican cause at election time.

The issue apparently came up at the Senate Republican lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday, run by Lee’s conservative Senate Steering Committee.

The far-right House Freedom Caucus, which still largely supports Trump and his insurrection, also voted to pressure Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California to take a harder line on the continuing resolution unless Democrats strip out funding to enforce the mandate, according to inside sources.

Last time the House passed a funding stopgap measure, in September, 34 House Republicans backed the bill and the Republican leadership did not whip against it. But the group plans to demand that Republican lawmakers stand firm in supporting their Senate colleagues this time.

“There is leverage immediately in the Senate, and we think that House Republicans ought to be backing up any number of Senate Republicans … to use all procedural tools to deny the continuing resolution passage Friday night — unless they restrict use of those funds for vaccine mandates,” said Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas and a member of the Freedom Caucus.

The strategy, if it holds, means the government will likely shut down for several days — even if appropriators strike a bipartisan agreement to extend funding by the end of the day on Wednesday.

A staff member for a Senate leader on the Democratic Party side of the aisle said without an agreement to truncate the timeline, the Senate would need at least five days to process the funding resolution. That would mean a brief shutdown ending Sunday at the earliest, but possibly dragging into next week if a deal isn’t reached on Wednesday.

Budget deals originate in the House, so the Senate can’t begin the process of voting until the continuing resolution passes the House, and the House won’t pass the bill until a deal is agreed upon.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer admitted the possibility of trouble on Tuesday, seeking to preemptively blame the Republicans in case something goes awry.

“To avoid a needless shutdown, Republicans will have to cooperate and approve the government funding legislation without delay,” he told reporters. “If Republicans choose obstruction, there will be a shutdown entirely because of their own dysfunction.”

Democrats are counting on this disfunction to be blamed on the Republicans, as it has been in the past, and they will no doubt use it in their campaigns for reelection in the midterm elections next year.

You know what they say: Play with fire, get burned.

Evan McMullin, a former CIA officer running as an independent against Lee for the Utah Senate seat in 2022, said Lee’s plans for a government shutdown would hurt Utah families, destabilize the country and further prove that Lee is “incapable of constructive leadership.”

“Senator Lee intends to shut down the government, blocking payments to our troops, weakening our national security, hurting vulnerable citizens and preventing civil servants from doing their jobs, while he still receives his own paycheck,” McMullin said in a statement. “Real leaders and effective legislators work constructively to find solutions. Lee is once again acting as a destabilizing influence, choosing instead to engage opportunistically in attention-seeking obstructionism.”

In 2013, Lee’s government shutdown cost our economy more than $20 billion and accomplished nothing, McMullin said. “His consistent inability to solve problems through more productive means and habit of causing chaos poorly serve Utah’s interests.”

“The perception of a federal vaccine mandate would make it counterproductive,” McMullin continued. “Individuals and families should choose to be vaccinated themselves, with our leaders’ support and encouragement. On Utah’s behalf, Lee should offer such leadership. After two terms in office, he should have the tools and relationships necessary to shape appropriate policy on this challenging matter without resorting to irresponsible stunts.”

In Utah, he said, many prominent employers and businesses have already implemented vaccination or testing programs. These groups include the church-owned Deseret Management Corporation, and other private businesses such as Intermountain Healthcare and Utah’s largest venue: Vivint Arena.

“If Senator Lee can’t influence critical health care policy without causing fruitless government shutdowns,” he said, “it further proves he is incapable of leading and cannot serve Utah’s, or this nation’s, interests.”