Posted on 09/26/2025 4:05:58 PM PDT by nickcarraway
An impending government shutdown presents an opportunity
The U.S. government is about to run out of money. If Congress does not pass a spending bill -- or a short-term continuing resolution that keeps money flowing temporarily -- there will be a federal government shutdown this coming Tuesday.
Moments like these are rare opportunities for the party that is not in control of Congress. As the New York Timesopens in a new tab or window described it, "...passing a government spending bill that can win the necessary 60 votes depends on attracting at least a small amount of Democratic support. That will require bipartisan negotiation, an art that has been fading steadily on Capitol Hill and has so far been lost altogether during Mr. Trump's second term."
In other words, Democrats have some leverage here. How should they use it?
So far, I've heard the usual fantasies, which boil down to using the threat of a shutdown to convince the other side to abandon its most cherished projects.
Try as they might, Congressional Democrats are not going to get their Republican counterparts to get behind, say, reversing $1 trillion in cuts. But there's something that Democrats can do. They can make the Republicans an offer they can't refuse.
Congressional Democrats should make an uncharacteristic offer to support some deep cuts enumerated in the recent House and Senate markups of the appropriations bill for the coming fiscal year. In exchange, they should require that President Trump fire HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., or accept his prompt resignation.
Democrats should consider some of the extraordinarily deep cuts in the proposed budget President Trump floated earlier this year -- cuts that were so extensive that neither chamber of Congressopens in a new tab or window included them in their recent versions of the spending bill. To be clear, these cannot be superficial concessions, but must instead be impressive enough to get Republicans' attention. These cuts must be carefully chosen, but they would have to be significant enough that, absent the offer, many or most of the proposals would be likely to die during the negotiation process. That's the only way to get their attention. Remember, without a deal like this, many of these cuts are likely to eventually happen anyway.
This deal would be worth it for both sides. Whether President Trump realizes it or not, this deal would indeed be to his long-term advantage. Secretary Kennedy poses a unique threat to President Trump's primary legacy from his first term -- Operation Warp Speed, the successful effort that led to effective vaccines against COVID-19 in months, instead of years. Trump's leadership on COVID-19 vaccines in 2020 saved hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of American lives.
However, Kennedy has taken several steps that could destroy Trump's vaccine legacy. He has spread falsehoods about the vaccines, including saying in 2021 that they are the most dangerous vaccinesopens in a new tab or window ever created. And since his confirmation as health secretary, he has continued to undermine vaccination and canceled hundreds of millions of dollarsopens in a new tab or window in research that could prevent another pandemic or end the emergency phase of one sooner.
Secretary Kennedy also poses a unique threat to President Trump's second term legacy -- something the President may not yet recognize. By attacking our nation's vaccine infrastructure -- by dismantling the rigorous and transparent process that ensures that our policies are firmly rooted in the best-available totality of the science, and by paving the way for actions that may scare vaccine manufacturers off the market -- Kennedy is risking the lives of millions of American children. If more measles outbreaks occur as a result of decreased vaccine uptake, the attendant increases in severe pediatric illnesses and deaths will squarely be Trump's responsibility.
Kennedy's inability or refusal to understand the way science actually works is also starting to create self-defeating optics for the administration, including the bizarre spectacle of the President repeatedly yelling, "Don't take Tylenol" from behind a podium at the White House. (The FDA had to walk backopens in a new tab or window some of what was said at that press event.)
This unforced error -- trying to pin increased rates of autism on acetaminophen (Tylenol) use during pregnancy when the evidence on this is far from certain -- is likely to backfire for the President in many ways. First, millions of Americans will feel wrongly shamed for having taken a medication that is safe and effective. In fact, the medication may actually contribute to lower rates of adverse pediatric health outcomes in pregnant women who take it to treat feversopens in a new tab or window. The "precautionary principle" invoked by the President's FDA Commissioner is therefore not applicable here. Second, the complete abandonment of norms in developing public health policy might someday cause the President's opposition to embrace a similar style when they are in control.
While an eye-for-an-eye approach would not be the ideal response (a return to a commitment to rigorous, settled science would be), it's easy to imagine that's where we're headed. No one is served by this, short-term victories notwithstanding.
President Trump can end these threats to our nation's public health by requesting Secretary Kennedy's immediate resignation. This would also be a gift to Republicans, many of whom sense that Kennedy's damage will soon be unpopular.
Yes, Kennedy's replacement will have to pass Senate confirmation. But this time, the Senate will not be so easily fooled by false assurances, the fate that befell Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.)opens in a new tab or window, a pro-vaccine physician, who was bamboozled into offering the last-minute support Kennedy's successful nomination needed.
The 20th century was the first one in which surviving childhood became the normopens in a new tab or window in the U.S. Life-saving vaccines were a big part of that achievement. Equally important, however, is our national vaccine infrastructure, which ensures that people can receive them. Removing threats to access to vaccines -- threats introduced by Secretary Kennedy -- matters more than almost anything in the 2026 spending bills. Congressional Democrats should be willing to swallow a bitter pill on some cuts if it means a generation of children will be guaranteed the protection offered by vaccines.
A version of this piece originally appeared in Inside Medicineopens in a new tab or window.
Whaa?
SOMEONE HAS DRUGS THAT ARE NOT PRESCRIPTION, IMO.
The left is delusional. They hold no cards.
Who is this A.H.? I vote they tell them esad.
This author has O.D.’d on hopium.
I see no way that the ‘Rats have ANY leverage.
Yes. Cut the enter FDA and problem solved.
I smell their fear.
> Jeremy Faust, MD, MS, MA. <
I don’t trust anyone who has more than one set of initials after his last name. It’s a sign of an egomaniac.
Sincerely,
Leaning Right, GOC
GOC = Grumpy Old Conservative
No. He seems hes doing a good job.
Realistically, Kennedy wasn’t the best person for the job. He was given the job because he dropped his own run for President and supported Trump. Trump likes and remembers that kind of thing.
Still, making this a tit for tat is perhaps an unnecessary sign of weakness. Having it as a front page gambit is probably a non-starter.
Classic “give us what we want and we promise to consider scheduling a meeting to discuss what you want.” I have a counter offer: “give us Ilhan Omar’s head on a plate and we’ll take what we want anyway.”
I think he got the job, not because he's always right, but because he will not always go with the herd, and he is one of them.
President Trump will NEVER acquest to this Leftard B. S. These F’ers are CRAZY!
I wouldn’t say that.
Great to smell that in the morning.
I never wanted RFK in the first place, he’s way too kooky left for my taste. Trump won’t and shouldn’t start throwing anyone to the wolves though in any case.
Love it... Three thumbs up!
My first thought, What are those guys smoking?
I would add Chucky’s head to your demands!
The only way “out” for the ‘Rats is total acceptance of what the House has passed. Anything else is a call for Schumer’s head.
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