Don't Expect Schumer Will Be Senate Minority Leader Much Longer Says Mukunda

The longest government shutdown in US history is coming to an end, but restarting the federal bureaucracy could take days — and in some cases a week or more — before normal operations resume.

Payroll systems must be updated to pay out weeks of back wages. Backlogs of grant disbursements, loan applications and customer calls that went unanswered for 43 days — and counting — will now need to be cleared. Delayed environmental permits, workplace inspections and contracting activities have stacked up across federal agencies. Gautam Mukunda Lecturer at Yale School of Management and Bloomberg Opinion contributor joins to discuss with Paul Sweeney and Scarlet Fu.

Chances for passage in the House were bolstered by Representative Andy Harris, chairman of the hardline conservative Freedom Caucus, who offered conditional support.

The Senate’s 60-40 vote Monday to approve the funding came amid escalating flight disruptions, food aid delays and frustrations in a federal workforce that has mostly gone without pay for more than a month.

The Democratic moderates reached a deal that dropped the party’s demand to renew expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, infuriating progressives who had rallied to the high-stakes confrontation with Trump.

It could still take days for air travel to return to normal and probably longer for most of the 42 million low-income Americans enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to receive delayed benefits. Lengthy backlogs and delays are likely across the federal government as it reopens.

The Democratic centrists brought the shutdown to an end by settling for a Republican promise that the Senate will vote by mid-December on extending the Obamacare insurance premium credits. There is no guarantee enough Republicans will support subsidies for a renewal to pass the Senate. Johnson has said he won’t promise a House vote on the matter.

The moderate group broke with the party, including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. The climbdown stoked anger across the party just days after Democrats were celebrating surprisingly strong victories in state and local elections on a campaign promoting action to address the cost of living.

California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom called the deal “pathetic” while Illinois Governor JB Pritzker slammed a Senate vote on Democratic demands as an “empty promise.”

“I think it’s a terrible mistake,” Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, said. “The American people want us to stand and fight for health care, and that’s what I believe we should do.”

--------

Watch Bloomberg Radio LIVE on YouTube

Weekdays 7am-6pm ET

Follow us on X

Subscribe to our Podcasts:

Bloomberg Daybreak

Bloomberg Surveillance

Bloomberg Intelligence

Balance of Power

Bloomberg Businessweek

Listen on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app:

Apple CarPlay

Android Auto

Visit our YouTube channels:

Bloomberg Podcasts

Bloomberg Television

Bloomberg Originals