Washington this morning is waiting for House Speaker Mike Johnson to release his plan to keep the government funded past Friday, with Johnson and other leaders planning to brief House Republicans in a 3 p.m. call.

Given the timetable (less than a week), Johnson’s experience dealing with shutdown politics (near zero), and the level of disarray in the GOP conference (high), the chances of a shutdown are growing.

Sources on the Hill and at the White House said they are adjusting travel plans accordingly and preparing to spend the holiday in D.C. A last-minute short-term clean CR is always possible, but over at the White House they are not holding their breath.

Aides are betting on Johnson not being able to figure this out and are preparing along two tracks.

  • @Bdtrngl
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    211 year ago

    Follow up question: how long do we think Johnson will last?

    • FuglyDuck
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      551 year ago

      “About thirty seconds. Yeah. I wish I didn’t know that either.”- his son probably

    • uphillbothways
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      161 year ago

      And, how long until an international sell off of US currency as the national credit rating takes multiple hits?

      At which point, how long does the US last?

      • @[email protected]
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        1 year ago

        Petroleum creates demand for USD which absolves many of our sins. If OPEC starts demanding a different currency for oil payment, that will be a serious problem for the dollar. Right now, that arrangement puts a floor on the price of the dollar.

        • @TechNerdWizard42
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          11 year ago

          Starts? It has started. BRICS has seen the writing on the wall and lots of oil is now transacted in Non-USD currencies with the growth continuing.

    • shuzuko
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      61 year ago

      Anyone got a head of lettuce handy to compare?

      • @DarthBueller
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        -21 year ago

        What is a “head of lettuce handy” and where can I get one? Are we talking about one that you can get in a car, or is this more of kind that you get at a commercial establishment?

        • shuzuko
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          1 year ago

          Not sure if I’m not getting your joke or you’re not getting mine, but just in case it’s the latter (or for anyone else wondering about the lettuce) -

          https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Truss_lettuce

          Tldr: a British tabloid live streamed a head of lettuce the entire time Liz Truss was PM to see which would last longer. Spoiler, it was the lettuce.

            • @DarthBueller
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              11 year ago

              Yes. I infer that “handy” is an American slang word that isn’t common in the UK, based on this interaction. I’ve got no skin in this game, just having fun.

              • shuzuko
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                11 year ago

                Not British, just of the wrong gender to consider that type of dirty joke 😉

            • shuzuko
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              11 year ago

              Ah, as I am a sister who generally does not talk about “handies”, it very much flew over my head 😂