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The government shutdown entered its sixth day as congressional Democrats and Republicans could not agree to pass a bill funding government services.
In today’s politics roundtable, we break down the week’s biggest stories with two columnists from opposite sides of the aisle.
Topics will include the federal government shutdown, now in its sixth day. Pay has been suspended for two million federal workers, and there’s still no sign of a funding agreement. We’ll examine the politics of the stalemate, the toll it’s taking on workers, possible paths to resolution, and who’s winning the messaging war.
We’ll also discuss developments abroad and at home, starting with the Gaza peace negotiations, National Guard deployments in Chicago and Portland, ICE protests, and the president’s mounting pressure on universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, to sign a political alignment compact. And we’ll get takes on the Bad Bunny brouhaha.
And we’ll focus on our own region, including Pennsylvania’s ongoing budget impasse, now in its fourth month. The standoff between Governor Josh Shapiro and the Republican-controlled Senate has delayed billions in funding to counties, schools, and essential services, forcing many agencies to prepare for cuts. We’ll also look at the surge of money in Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court judicial retention race, the crowded race for the congressional seat currently held by Rep. Dwight Evans, and the New Jersey governor’s race that’s shaping up to be neck-and-neck.
Guests:
Terry Tracy, founder of Broad + Liberty and CEO of Fideri News Network
Solomon Jones, Philadelphia Inquirer columnist, WURD host