Speaker Johnson indicated that he thought this could be the longest government shutdown on record and continued to condition negotiations on the Democrats dropping the demand for modifying the health insurance cuts. I find this fascinating only because of how, excuse the term, ridiculous it is. One does not give up a negotiating position for nothing in exchange other than the opening of the government. Why wouldn’t Republicans negotiate and get the government open or at least put forward some proposal that makes sense? Currently, the polls are blaming both sides about equally. Mr. Johnson and Mr. Scalise, the majority leader, are stating different positions on the healthcare issue but both are saying ‘we have a better plan.’ In 15 years, Republicans have said the same thing consistently with no action, much less a plan. This is truly an absurdity as Republicans have no intention of taking any steps to fix the health insurance issue. What is also interesting is that the vast majority of the people getting Obamacare subsidies are in Red states. Let me repeat that – they are in Red states.
The reports are that ICE’s approach is becoming more violent as time wears on, which I suspect is occurring out of frustration because they are not deporting people as I mentioned last week at the same rate as they were in June of this year, and the protests continue as the policy becomes less and less popular with the American public. If I were an ICE officer, I would be beginning at least to feel the pressure, and question whether or not this has been the right approach. I mentioned last week there has been no development of any plan to handle the loss of immigrants in any number of job categories, which ultimately will impact the economy. It is a question of when, not if. We even hear Margorie Taylor Greene espousing the same view that the ICE activities are extreme and that the Administration doesn’t have a plan for what happens when a critical mass of immigrants are deported, and we do not have enough employees.
The Nobel Committee is reporting that Donald Trump finished fifth in the voting for the Peace Prize. We should all extend our congratulations to him. Just so you know, this is fake news.
Apparently, a large swath of young Republicans have been caught on tape making homophobic, racial, misogynist, and prejudicial comments causing many to call for their resignations and many have already resigned. I think we are getting an insight into what MAGA really thinks.
To add insult to injury, apparently, Ambassador Hoekstra is having a rough time in Canada. Not only does he spew the same negative and threatening commentary as Mr. Trump, but he lacks any diplomatic experience or grace in office.
Mr. Trump is raising the ante by increasing tariffs on China as a result of the Chinese tightening the sale of rare earth metals or at least delaying it. I commented on this several weeks ago indicating that Mr. Trump did not understand how the Chinese were operating and really had very little he could do about it, and thus, he has reverted to his normal tactic which is imposing tariffs. My guess is the rare earth minerals are more important to us than the tariffs are to China.
Some startling employment statistics were recently released indicating that Black unemployment is up substantially, and Mr. Trump’s promise of making minority communities better off is clearly not playing out. If, in fact, it is accurate information that the Black community is suffering higher unemployment, and the Hispanic community is suffering large deportations, where is the benefit for them from Mr. Trump?
We then have, of course, Mr. Trump yelling at his supporters in a late-night meltdown on social media to “do something.” Now is that an invitation to indite more enemies, or a call for violence? It looks to me like it might be both.
The conversations about inflation have taken an interesting turn as some experts are saying that patterns are beginning to look like the 1970s, which is a troubling indicator for the financial markets. This is clearly something to be watching.
Mr. Johnson accuses participants in the No Kings protests of being Marxists and that it was a stunt to cover the closure issues for Democrats. He also claimed that words like “fascist” were inappropriate, but calling Democrats Marxists is. The demonstrations were peaceful and largely positive. I know of no arrests nor violence being reported.
The Prime Minister of Canada, Mr. Carney, met with Mr. Trump recently at the White House for purposes of having substantive discussions on tariffs and potentially the USMCA, as well as the general relationship between the countries. It is interesting to note that the rhetoric has at least temporarily abated, and things are tending to move relatively smoothly in the relationship. In particular, in the trading relationship. I can comment firsthand since I live on the border and do a lot of work in Canada, the trade arena is healthy. The intensity of feeling in Canada about Mr. Trump has stayed the same – very hot.
Mr. Trump who had been decrying Democratic positions on the shut down claims he is now inclined to talk about healthcare and how to address a number of issues in the healthcare area. Is Mr. Trump responding to the polls or suddenly grown empathetic? I suspect it is the polls. He has to get in line with Mr. Johnson and Mr. Scalise though.
Foreclosures are surging in the US as homeowners grapple with riding costs in many arenas. This has been something which has not really been focused on by the media and certainly not by Mr. Trump, the Republicans, nor for that matter, Democrats. They are all missing the point as to what affects the average American, and this is one of the biggest negatives that can happen to an American family, the loss of their home. I suggest that all of the politicians focus on this issue as I suspect it may have some impact on the 2026 midterms.
I also note the reports of other troubles in the housing market, which is being made worse by the use of AI for virtual showings which are frequently wildly inaccurate.
Bill Owens is a former member of Congress representing the New York 21st, a partner in Stafford, Owens, Piller, Murnane, Kelleher and Trombley in Plattsburgh, NY and a Strategic Advisor at Dentons to Washington, DC.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.
