BREAKINGVIEWS-Congress gets a chance to reclaim US fiscal power

By Gabriel Rubin

WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Equipped with few tools in Washington these days, Democrats would be foolish to surrender their most powerful one: access to the off switch. The government’s $1.8 trillion discretionary coffers are now bare, and if they're not restocked, it will force furloughs and shuttered departments starting on Wednesday. President Donald Trump is seeking to capitalize on the looming U.S. government shutdown by threatening to fire more federal staff. It's an opportune moment for legislators to claw back some clout.

Courts have forced the White House to distribute some congressionally authorized money, months late, but other funded initiatives sit rotting in warehouses or with their employees jobless. In the six months since the top Senate Democrat, Chuck Schumer, chose to keep the government’s lights on just as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency hacked through the federal workforce, Trump has shuttered entirely, or in all but name, agencies including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Environmental Protection Agency. In some cases, such as public broadcasting and foreign aid, Capitol Hill agreed to cancel more than $9 billion of unspent funds that it had previously authorized. In others, the administration simply refused to spend allocated money because the programs don’t align with Trump’s agenda.

To make Democrats sweat, the commander-in-chief has sent layoff orders to agency heads. Another round of federal job cuts, on top of the 114,000 sought in Trump’s 2026 budget proposal, speaks to the urgency of the situation. Trump gains no new authority to fire workers during a shutdown; he would simply be using it as pretext, leaving Democrats to educate voters. Their requests are clear enough, at least: extension of a tax break for Affordable Care Act health premiums to 24 million people and more guarantees that the administration will spend the money that Congress allocates, as constitutionally mandated.

For a party that’s interested in keeping government services available, closing down Washington does come with real costs that build with time. Temporarily suspended federal workers are a large and influential constituency. Such concerns pale in comparison, however, with further eroding the power of the purse. Winning the shutdown showdown won’t resolve the matter, but it might represent a sort of fiscal Waterloo: drawing a line on Trump’s efforts to consolidate power. Investors have become somewhat numb to these U.S. political clashes, but the stakes are far higher this time than delayed small business grants and stranded park rangers.

Follow Gabriel Rubin on Bluesky and LinkedIn.

CONTEXT NEWS

The U.S. federal government is due to shut down on October 1, leading to thousands of workers being furloughed and national services suspended, barring a last-minute agreement between congressional Democrats and the White House.

Democrats are demanding that Congress extend tax breaks for 24 million Americans who receive health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, which are set to expire at the end of 2025. The party also wants limits on the executive branch's ability to withhold spending authorized by Congress.