Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg, October 13, 2025

“None of this is good for functional governance — playing to the parties’ extreme wings, failing to pass budgets on time, threatening the paychecks of federal workers, or using the shutdown as an excuse for more mass firings of public servants.

And what’s most worrisome is the least tangible: The public is getting used to the idea that there’s little difference between a functional deliberative body and a hostage-taking one. Because even when something dramatic like a shutdown happens, it feels like nothing to most of us.

The less government breakdown seems to matter, the more it all feels like sport. The more it feels like sport, the more dysfunction and theatrics we’ll not only tolerate, but desire — because, what’s the harm?”