Source: Real Clear Politics
by Larry Kudlow
“Elon Musk is going to rejoice next week when President Trump’s budget director, Russ Vought, unleashes his secret shutdown weapon. A former House speaker, Newt Gingrich, talked about it last night: ‘Look, I think that the Democrats are in a hopeless situation. And I’ve been looking at people like Congresswoman Spanberger, who’s running for governor in Virginia. How can she vote against keeping the government open when it is her constituents in Northern Virginia who are going to bear the brunt of any government shutdown?’ What’s Mr. Vought’s secret weapon? He is ordering all government agencies to identify all programs that would lapse in a shutdown or don’t meet up with Mr. Trump’s policies. As Kim Strassel writes in the Wall Street Journal, usually shutdowns mean federal employees are furloughed — and then they get hired back.” (09/26/25)