It’s easy to forget in the horror of this last week and a half that there’s actually business to do on Capitol Hill. But apparently, a national tragedy hasn’t prompted Democrats to set aside their differences and work with Republicans on the common goals of Congress — like passing a budget. If anything, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) party has only thrown more obstacles onto the road that GOP leaders need to travel to keep the lights on. But, as everyone should know by now, it takes a lot more than that to rattle this House speaker.

In the latest episode of “Can We Stop a Government Shutdown?” Democrats, still stinging from the base’s rebuke after they cooperated on the last continuing resolution (CR), seem determined to snub any effort at bipartisanship — even though the bill is entirely reasonable. As Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) reiterated, Republicans haven’t added explosive policy issues or changed much of the language from the last version that Schumer supported. And yet, “predictably and unfortunately,” the speaker shook his head, “there are some Democrats who are openly pining for a government shutdown.”

With almost zero help from the other side (Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, Maine, was the only crossover), Johnson shepherded the CR through the House by a 217-212 vote on Friday and sent it to the other side of the Capitol, where it predictably failed before members left town.

A handful of tweaks — including funneling more money to public officials’ security — shouldn’t derail what is otherwise a straightforward package, the speaker argued. In the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination, the Louisianan said he’s been “deluged” with requests from members for more protection. So, as part of the CR, $30 million would go toward executive branch protection, $30 million for legislative branch security, and $28 million for Supreme Court justices.

And yet, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is messaging that “Donald Trump and the Republican Party have launched an all-out assault on health care in this country,” an allegation that has nothing to do with the current CR. He’s hopeful that this charge, which goes back to their opposition to the president’s signature bill, will somehow stick to the GOP’s seven-week proposal that simply extends the funding that was approved under Joe Biden — long before Trump took office.

His party’s version of a stopgap measure, which Democrats released mid-week, is almost comical, Republicans point out. Instead of bridging the gap to the next shutdown, Jeffries and Schumer propose rolling back the One Big Beautiful Bill and reinstating $1.4 trillion in spending — about as unserious a package as the Left has ever offered.

The speaker could only shake his head. “In exchange for their vote to fund the government, some Democrats said they wanted Republicans to repeal our very popular and very effective reforms to the Medicaid program where we cut fraud, waste, and abuse. And we ensured that illegal aliens don’t receive taxpayer benefits, and we put able-bodied men back to work,” he explained. “They want us to wind that back, [and there’s] zero chance that we will do that…”

Frankly, Johnson said at a press conference earlier this week, “They’re grasping for straws as a party. And so, some of them apparently believe that shutting down the government will be some sort of life raft for them so they can regain the support of the American people. I just think that is a fool’s gambit.” At its heart, the seven-week funding bridge isn’t controversial. It would give Congress until Thanksgiving to finish the appropriations process and navigate the thorny issues.

Even the head of the House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), told Family Research Council President Tony Perkins on “Washington Watch” that the proposal Republicans offered is more than reasonable. “I think the real pressure would be if we … put this off until the week before Christmas, because then you’re getting out of town for a couple of weeks. It’s the holiday. It’s the end of the year. You don’t want to spoil anybody’s Christmas with even a short government shutdown. I think November 20th is all right.” Not to mention, he added, “… The speaker has gone publicly and said in the past and currently he really doesn’t want an end-of-year omnibus bill, which is really what we’re afraid of, because that always involves increased spending.”

To those observers who roll their eyes and say they’ve heard these promises to finish the appropriations process before, Harris thinks this time is different. But, he warns, if Congress doesn’t break the spell of CRs and massive, ballooning omnibuses, it will be the Senate Democrats’ fault. “The House has actually passed all 12 bills through committee,” the Marylander underscored. “Five bills through the floor,” he said of the budget proposals. “The Senate has not done the same. They have passed three bills through the floor.”

Schumer, meanwhile, tells the cameras that he’s not interested in a shutdown — while doing everything in his power to stymie the solution for one. “They’re just walking into a bar looking for a fight,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) told Perkins on “This Week on Capitol Hill.” “It’s like childish games. And yet they’re playing these games with the funding of our military, for example, the funding of programs like Social Security.” And here’s the irony, he said. In the Democrats’ attempt to send a message to the base that “they’re fighting,” the reality is, “they’re not even really fighting with Donald Trump, because in a government shutdown, who gets the power of the purse? It’s no longer Congress. In a shutdown, the president gets the power of the purse. Donald Trump. [So] they’re not even going to achieve their goal.”

As for the Left’s complaints about the end of Obamacare tax credits at the end of the year, now is not the time to negotiate that, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) reiterated. The time and place for that is in the regular appropriations debates that he’s trying to work through now. “I think the [Obamacare] subsidies will be an issue that will be addressed, but I think right now we’ve got to keep the government open so we can do appropriations bills and work on that, with that solution,” he told reporters. “Schumer knows where my office is,” Thune jabbed.

For now, Scalise lays everything that happens from here at the feet of the minority leader. “… Chuck Schumer is going to have to decide if he wants to grow up and lead or still be [dragged] around by his crazy, far-left, radical, Marxist base. … You know, his party has moved so far to the Left that they used to always want a clean CR. Now they just want a government shutdown, because they want to oppose anything Donald Trump supports.”

At the end of the day, Scalise vowed, “We’re going to move and do our job in the House.” If Democrats want to grind the government to a halt, that’s on them. But don’t expect voters to be on board with it, the majority leader warned.