These two headlines are accurate and concerning.

Fox News:

And this from Yahoo Finance:

If a spending bill isn’t passed in the House by March 1, several departments will shut down and that will be followed by most other agency closures by March 8.

Question: are Republicans with their razor-tight two-seat majority TRYING to lose control of Congress in November?

A shutdown will play into the hands of Democrats who argue that Trump and the House Republicans are the party of chaos.

House Speaker Mike Johnson’s brief speakership is in jeopardy because he has agreed not to pass budget bills with Democratic votes. Earth to House Republicans!

You have no choice because at least five to 10 Republicans won’t vote for any bill that keeps the government operating.

The only route to 218 ayes is with at least a handful of Democrat votes. But that could mean a vote to “vacate the chair” – an instant replay of the GOP foolishness in removing Kevin McCarthy from the speakership last year.

The only winner from this intra-party melee is Joe Biden.

Instead, The House could pass a continuing resolution for the rest of the fiscal year that funds programs at last year’s level with a one percent across-the-board cut in spending. This is the automatic spending sequester known as the “Massie Rule”, named after Rep Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and was agreed to as part of last year’s budget deal

As the chart below shows, federal spending is higher than ever before in peacetime. We should be chainsawing agency funding by 10 to 20%. But a small cut is better than mayhem and a symbolic shutdown that is likely to backfire.

Federal Spending Is a National Virus: Outlays As Share of GDP at All-Time High