The federal government could shut down...

 The government could shut down at midnight. Here’s why.

• POGO 

  From:reply@pogo.org

  To:Mark M Giese

  Tue, Sep 30 2025 at 5:01 PM

  View in browser The federal government could shut down at midnight. We need to be clear about why this is happening. Mark, Congress is at an impasse. Policymakers’ failure to come to a bipartisan agreement on how to spend your tax dollars has brought us barreling toward an imminent shutdown. Government shutdowns are incredibly damaging — to agency operations, the economy, federal workers, and the services and programs your community relies on. They exact a significant and often lasting toll on government accountability and transparency. Your representatives should never have let negotiations devolve to where they have brought us today. But we need to acknowledge the White House’s role in sowing this dysfunction. The Trump administration has been interfering with Congress's spending authority, withholding and even cancelling billions in congressionally mandated funds, and denying Congress the information they need to make spending decisions and conduct oversight. The failed negotiations that led to this shutdown are a direct result of a steady, aggressive effort by the Trump administration to undercut Congress’s spending powers. There is a reason why the Constitution entrusts Congress with the power of the purse rather than granting such power to the president or his cabinet. One person’s whims should not dictate what happens to trillions of taxpayer dollars. The people’s branch should decide how and where the people’s resources are spent. But this administration is seeking to consolidate power in the executive branch.  Since day one, the Trump administration has tested the limits on executive power. It has illegally usurped the authorities reserved for Congress — not just on matters of spending, but on war, oversight, immigration, and so much more. Your representatives cannot ignore this existential threat to their power. They have the responsibility to you, to the Constitution, and to American democracy to reclaim their powers and reassert their fundamental role as a check on the executive branch. The foundational guardrails of our democracy and the balance of power between the branches are under unprecedented threat. Fund the defense against executive overreach by rushing a donation today. — POGO https://prod.cdn.everyaction.com/emails/van/PGO/PGO/1/78922/KLbGOXBJDpG-zJYeiE_5D7p4Bhj98cqUwJWnimhz2oL_archive?emci=ae250d90-439e-f011-8e61-6045bded8ba4&emdi=e61d74cd-489e-f011-8e61-6045bded8ba4&ceid=29200