They Own This
March 30, 2026
Digby's Hullabaloo
Jake Sherman at Punchbowl: AM: REPUBLICANS DHS MESS Let’s be abundantly clear — this record-breaking, 44-day DHS funding impasse has turned into a political disaster for Republicans. At one point, Republicans seemed to be breaking through with their message that Democrats instigated the DHS fight over undocumented immigrants. But now, House and Senate Republicans are publicly warring with each other over who’s at fault for last week’s debacle.
The GOP-run Congress has left town until mid-April, while President Donald Trump was forced to issue an executive order to pay TSA employees. This episode illustrates how adrift the GOP-run Congress is when Trump remains on the sidelines. Trump was completely silent about the Senate’s proposal, although his staff was telling lawmakers he approved. When it became clear that the House would reject it, Trump sided with them. But now the House Republican Conference has ownership of the impasse. Johnson’s rejection of Thune’s approach ensures that the next two weeks will be all about how GOP infighting is prolonging the shutdown. By the way: A new national University of Massachusetts Amherst Poll finds President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 33, the lowest rating of his second term in office. The poll of 1,000 respondents, conducted March 20-25, finds Trump’s approval down five points from July 2025 and 11 points lower than last April. “In the midst of skyrocketing prices, significant declines in the stock market, an unpopular war in the Middle East, a government shutdown that has led to lines
Digby's Hullabaloo
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