> they're just intentionally failing to do their job
How is this a hot take? The debt ceiling is statute. Electeds are doing what their voters want them to do. Until shutdowns result in a bipartisan anti-incumbency wave, they won’t go away. (The electoral consequences of shutting down the government are mixed at best.)
Just a nit but this isn't a debt ceiling issue. They raised the ceiling by 5trillion with the big bill passed in the spring[0]. Shutdowns occur because no budget has been passed so the government hasn't been authorized to spend any money. The bill they are arguing over now would fund the government through Nov 21st[1].
0: https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/family-finan...
1: https://www.npr.org/2025/09/19/nx-s1-5545929/house-stopgap-f...
> so the government hasn't been authorized to spend any money
Thank you for catching. Mixed up my fuckups. I’m sure the administration that’s been illegally impounding mandated spending is absolutely constrained by the law in this case…