false alarms

Boehner Concludes Biannual Test of the Government Shutdown System

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) walks through the House side of the US Capitol February 27, 2015 in Washington, DC. Later today the House will vote on a three week continuing resolution for funding the Department of Homeland Security.
John Boehner. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

As expected, on Tuesday Speaker John Boehner allowed the House to vote on a “clean” bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security through September. It passed 257–167, so despite Boehner’s claim that he would allow a partial government shutdown to challenge President Obama’s immigration action, Republicans accomplished nothing. If this had been an actual shutdown, you would have seen lawmakers squabble for a few more days as essential government employees worked without pay. This concludes this test of the pointless government shutdown system.

Boehner Ends Test of Government Shutdown System