When I woke up on Monday morning, I glanced at the news and saw that familiar red banner hanging there again: Government Shutdown.
To be honest, my first reaction wasn't surprise; I even felt a little amused. It's 2026, and these people are still playing this game? It's like watching a tired, overused soap opera eight hundred times, you can practically recite the next line, and the writers haven't even changed.
I carefully read through the whole story, and this time the script has a slightly bloodier feel to it.
The core conflict remains the same old story: the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). But I must admit, I can somewhat understand the Democrats' reasons for this "table-flipping." The Minneapolis incident last month was too big a deal—ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents not only overstepped their bounds but also caused deaths; Alex Pretti and Renee Good, two young people, were gone. In this situation, if you were a Democratic congressman, you'd have to stand firm. If you readily approved the DHS budget now without adding the so-called "enforcement fence," it would essentially be political suicide.
So, a stalemate has formed: on one side, Republicans are determined to protect law enforcement power, while on the other side, Democrats want to put a stop to ICE. Neither side is willing to give in.
But what truly struck me as magical realism was not the political disagreement, but the "technical reason" that led to the shutdown.
I read in the reports that the Senate actually reluctantly conceded on Friday night—they came up with a compromise, separating the DHS issue from the main problem and approving the full-year budgets for other departments like the Department of Defense and the Department of State first. This was a fairly rational way to mitigate the damage, right?
And what happened? The House of Representatives went on holiday.
You really can't help but admire the "relaxation" of these guys. The Senate rushed over with the bill; all the House had to do was vote on it, and it would be over. But these guys have already left Washington and gone home for the weekend!
I was thinking, if ordinary people had a deadline on Friday that was a matter of life and death for the company, they would finish the work, even if it meant dying at their desks. But this was a group of people who controlled the machinery of the state, and their reason was, "Sorry, we're on recess. See you on Tuesday." And so, the cash flow snapped at midnight on Friday.
What is this? Is it arrogance? Or has it simply become indifferent all along?
In hindsight, this was nothing more than a short-lived farce. I heard Mike Johnson plans to vote as soon as Congress reconvenes on Tuesday, and Trump has given his approval. I estimate that by this time tomorrow, everything will be back to normal. Everyone will go back to work as if nothing happened, and continue their bickering.
But the sense of absurdity lingered: the anger sparked by the loss of several lives was ultimately ignited by an administrative incident "because I was off work."
Washington will always be Washington. No matter how much blood is shed or how many doors are closed, the sun still rises, and they'll always be spending that damn weekend. #美国政府停摆 $BTC
