Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Congress Avoids a Shutdown But at What Cost?

Congress Avoids a Shutdown But at What Cost?

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on March 14, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Getty Images, Tasos Katopodis

On March 14, the GOP-led Senate passed a stopgap spending bill to keep the federal government running until September 30. The bill’s passage was made possible by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s last-minute reversal—shifting from opposing the measure and advocating for a shorter extension to allowing the bill to advance. His decision was purely tactical: he feared Democrats would be blamed for a shutdown.

Schumer’s move provided the necessary votes to overcome procedural hurdles, effectively thwarting a Democratic filibuster. While Republican support for Trump’s budget was unsurprising, the Democratic leadership’s decision to go along was a stunning concession. It handed the Trump administration a significant victory while further eroding Congress’s budgetary authority, shifting more spending power to the executive branch.


Schumer attempted to justify his decision as preventing Trump from consolidating control during a shutdown. However, many within his party saw it as a capitulation that, ironically, granted Trump the unchecked power Democrats were trying to avoid.

The Stopgap Measure: What It Does and Doesn’t Do

Democrats initially opposed the bill because it lacked clear congressional directives on fund allocation. Republicans used a budget tool known as a continuing resolution (CR) instead of passing an appropriations bill. Unlike a traditional budget, which assigns specific funding to agencies and programs, the CR merely extends existing funding levels without dictating how those funds must be spent. It is the latter that is the cause for great concern.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

This omission grants the Trump administration unprecedented control over federal spending, including the ability to cut funding for certain agencies or redirect money toward favored programs.

This is not just a technicality—it is a fundamental shift in power. The federal budget for fiscal year 2024-2025 was the result of detailed bipartisan negotiations, setting clear parameters for how agencies should spend taxpayer dollars. The CR removes these guardrails.

While agencies technically receive the same funding levels, the Trump administration now has the discretion to withhold, delay, or redirect funds at will. What should be Congress’s responsibility has been ceded to the president.

Beyond that, the CR merely delays critical fiscal decisions. Instead of resolving budget disputes, Congress has kicked the can down the road until September, setting up another round of political brinkmanship. Arguably, Schumer’s decision to allow the CR to go forward weakens the Democrats’ bargaining position for the next round.

The Risk for Future Budgets

While the short-term effects are bad, the long-term consequences are disastrous. This cycle of short-term fixes weakens the stability of government operations and hinders federal agencies from making long-term plans. Hiring freezes, delayed contracts, and deferred policy initiatives are now the norm.

In effect, Congress’ failure to act decisively strengthens Trump’s ability to reshape the federal government by default, reducing oversight, weakening regulatory agencies, and centralizing power within the executive branch.

If Congress continues using temporary spending patches instead of passing full appropriations bills, it risks permanently shifting control over the budget to the president.

Future presidents, regardless of party, will have a blueprint for bypassing congressional authority, using CRs to dictate spending priorities without congressional approval. This would fundamentally alter the balance of power in Washington and plainly violate the Constitution’s provisions that give Congress the power to make these decisions.

Agencies may start ignoring Congress altogether, looking instead to the White House for funding guidance. Legislative oversight will weaken, allowing the president to govern through discretionary spending rather than legislation. Constitutional checks and balances will erode, increasing the risk of an imperial presidency where executive power grows unchecked.

Congress Must Reassert Its Authority

The nation cannot afford Congress to be a passive player in the budget process. Lawmakers must pass detailed appropriations bills rather than rely on continuing resolutions.

They need to strengthen oversight of executive actions to prevent spending from being used as a political weapon. Bipartisan coalitions should be built to restore regular order in the budget process. This is not new; this is how things were done before the current Congress, right up to last year.

Members of Congress must also engage with the public to highlight the importance of congressional control over spending and the dangers of unchecked executive power. It is probably something of a stretch to expect Republicans to criticize Trump, but Democrats must do so.

While the latest CR prevented an immediate shutdown, it did so at the cost of congressional authority. By delaying real budget negotiations until September, Congress has set the stage for yet another fiscal crisis, one that Trump can exploit to further consolidate power.

If lawmakers fail to reclaim their role in the budget process, they risk permanently ceding their constitutional authority, allowing future presidents to reshape federal spending with little to no oversight.

The consequences of such a shift could fundamentally alter American democracy, turning budgetary control into a tool of executive power rather than a function of representative government.

Robert Cropf is a professor of political science at Saint Louis University.

Read More

Just the Facts: Courts’ Actions Against the Trump Administration

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Justice Department March 14, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Getty Images, Andrew Harnik

Just the Facts: Courts’ Actions Against the Trump Administration

The Fulcrum strives to approach news stories with an open mind and skepticism, striving to present our readers with a broad spectrum of viewpoints through diligent research and critical thinking. As best we can, we remove personal bias from our reporting and seek a variety of perspectives in both our news gathering and selection of opinion pieces. However, before our readers can analyze varying viewpoints, they must have the facts.

How many legal actions have been filed against the Trump administration since January 2025?

Keep ReadingShow less
Innovative Local Solutions Can Ease America’s Housing Crisis
aerial photography of rural
Photo by Breno Assis on Unsplash

Innovative Local Solutions Can Ease America’s Housing Crisis

Across the country, families are prevented from accessing safe, stable, affordable housing—not by accident, but by design. Decades of exclusionary zoning, racial discrimination, and disinvestment have created a housing system that works well for the wealthy but leaves others behind. Even as federal cuts to public housing programs continue nationwide, powerful, community-rooted efforts are pushing back and offering real, equity-driven solutions led by local voices.

Historically, states like New Jersey show what’s possible when legal advocacy and grassroots organizing come together. In 1975, the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Mount Laurel ruling established that every municipality in the state has a constitutional obligation to provide its fair share of affordable housing. This landmark legal ruling reshaped housing policy and set a national precedent. Today, organizations like Fair Share Housing Center continue to defend and expand this right, ensuring that local governments are prohibited from using zoning laws to exclude working-class families or people of color.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pope Francis and Democracy: Navigating Beliefs and Political Systems
person wearing white cap looking down under cloudy sky during daytime

Pope Francis and Democracy: Navigating Beliefs and Political Systems

Pope Francis is being remembered for his reformist stance that both challenged conservative elements within the Catholic Church and resonated with progressive movements. The 88-year-old Argentina-born pontiff passed away on Monday following a series of health complications.

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church often shared his perspectives on various societal issues, including the relationship between faith and democracy. His tenure as pope was marked by a commitment to social justice, human rights, and the dignity of all individuals, which naturally intersects with democratic ideals.

Keep ReadingShow less