SHUTDOWN, WAR, DELAYS: TIME FOR RECESS

Ah yes, the 119th Congress has once again discovered the timeless Washington principle that the best way to deal with a record-long shutdown and a war with Iran is to take about 16 breaks and see if the problem gets bored and goes away. The House, under Speaker Mike Johnson, helpfully extended district work periods and mostly stayed home during the 43-day shutdown, while the Senate bravely reconvened just enough to keep the machinery of delay humming into November, like a broken treadmill in a government lobby. Meanwhile, both chambers still managed to honor their scheduled recesses for mid-February and Easter, because nothing says civic urgency like leaving town while TSA lines turn into performance art. And just to preserve the nation’s sense of balance, Congress also found time to punt Trump’s $72 billion immigration-enforcement package and argue over a $1.776 billion fund for people claiming the justice system was “weaponized” against them, proving once again that in Washington, the calendar is sacred, the crises are optional, and the real emergency is always the next break.