Well, because both parties have forgotten how to govern, we are careening towards another potential federal government shutdown.

Government funding expires Sept. 30 and, so far, there haven’t really been any talks with anyone. President Trump hasn’t been talking with Democrats or Republican congressional leaders.

The liberal progressive base of the Democratic Party, meanwhile, is itching for a showdown over, well, pretty much every single thing Trump has done since taking office.

That’s fair and expected of this group, which has never supported Trump and pretty much always disagrees with him about everything. Out there in the real world, though, where more than half the country voted for Trump in 2024, Democrats who hold elected office — at least, in the competitive seats — have much more to consider.

These Democrats know that voters really care about crime, illegal immigration and trade, and that simply opposing Trump’s efforts to address those problems — no matter how much they may disagree with his approach — isn’t a winning strategy for them. So, while the liberal progressive base may want Democrats to stand up to Trump, a lot of elected Democrats aren’t willing to take that approach.

We saw that last time around, when House Democrats voted against a budget resolution only to see Chuck Schumer cave at the last minute — after he had vowed to fight. Hopefully, this time, Democrats will at manage to get coordinated on strategy before the vote; that would be an improvement.

There’s a question, though, as to whether Republicans can get coordinated on strategy between Congress and the White House. Congressional Republicans — especially those in the U.S. Senate, including Sen. Susan Collins — are pushing for a so-called “clean” continuing resolution extending government funding through November.

It’s totally understandable why they’d do that. It avoids a showdown over the most controversial
parts of Trump’s agenda — trade, crime and illegal immigration — that would almost certainly make it into any real budget bill. If Republicans were committed to passing real budget bills, they’d want to beef up funding for the police and immigration enforcement, while codifying Trump’s ability to implement tariffs.

Essentially, a budget bill would force incumbents running in competitive districts or states to vote for Trump’s agenda. It’s easy to understand why they’d want to avoid casting that vote, and instead simply pass yet another continuing resolution avoiding the difficult issues entirely.

That’s apparently how many members of Congress, including leadership on both sides of the aisle and the left and right wings, see it: A budget bill could give Trump a blank check. There’s a problem with that thinking, however. The federal government isn’t funded through one bill; different appropriations bills are broken out through departments — or, that’s how it’s supposed to be.

Members of Congress who are concerned about voting to enact Trump’s agenda in one bill are more worried about having to vote for or against another continuing resolution or omnibus that envelops his agenda.

To avoid this choice, they ought to insist on voting on an actual budget — that is, all of the separate appropriations bills for each department. That way, any controversial provisions for a particular area will at least be attached to a particular bill.

A senator who opposed increasing funding for ICE could, for instance, vote against the Department of Homeland Security funding bill, but vote for the bill funding the Department of Transportation. (Sure, that will allow their opponents to accuse them of cherry-picking which bills to vote for based on political convenience, but people accuse members of Congress of that no matter how they vote.)

It would also have the advantage of being honest. The greatest country on earth should be able to
pass a real budget, separate appropriations bills, not an omnibus or a continuing resolution. The last time that happened was in 1996, almost 30 years ago. It’s embarrassing that we can’t seem to do it again.

If you don’t want controversial provisions in there, don’t include them — let people offer them as amendments instead. Regardless of your views on the issues, that’s just a way for members of
Congress to avoid doing their jobs.

I realize that’s not going to happen in the next two weeks, but if we need another continuing resolution, let’s make it the last one for a while. Let’s do things the right way. Do the real work and pass a real budget, please. It’s long past time to stop worrying about politics and optics.