Ah, here we go. The dam broke.
Today, when I woke up to be "essential" (I was called into work today), here were the headlines in the Washington Post:
- At least 14,000 unpaid IRS workers did not show up for work this week, House aide says
- Public disapproval of Trump swelled over shutdown
- Longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone indicted by special counsel in Russia investigation
- FAA delays flights at New York's LaGuardia airport, citing staffing shortages amid government shutdown
- 'This is your fault': GOP senators clash over shutdown inside private luncheon
- Senators negotiate in hopes of ending shutdown as dueling plans fail
In short, when I left for the office this morning, there was no telling what would go down. The news was full of all kinds of stuff that makes you say, "Wonder what the history books will say about this in 50 years? And will I be around to read them?" (I'll only be 98 years old, after all.) And, to my eye, the shutdown was just as likely to continue on another week (or five) as not.
But now . . . . Now, at 4:28 p.m. Central time, there's a temporary compromise. Both sides agree to a plan to reopen government without the border wall funding the current administration wants. But for only three week -- until February 15th. In that three weeks they will negotiate further on the border security piece of the Federal budget. So, you know, we may be back here for a Washington's Birthday edition. But for now, it appears that this temporary funding plan will pass and that the President will sign it.
Accordingly, unless something crazy happens between now and Monday (and, Katie bar the door, that might happen -- it's 2019, after all), I'm shutting this diary down for, at least, the next three weeks. Let's hope it's a lot more.
