White House Frames the Pending Government Shutdown

The White House is out with a new memo attacking House Republicans over fentanyl policy: “House Republicans have a stark choice to make: will they honor their word, meet their responsibility to avoid a shutdown, and act on life and death priorities like fighting the fentanyl crisis?”

Playbook: “This is a familiar playbook used by both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama as a GOP-controlled House careened towards a shutdown that was eventually blamed on Republicans: emphasize popular spending programs that will be sabotaged by a failure to pass annual spending laws.”

“The White House’s choice of fentanyl as the issue to highlight is a clever bit of political jujitsu, as it’s one of the most discussed issues among Republicans, especially on the 2024 campaign trail, where Biden is often blamed for not doing enough to ease the fentanyl crisis.”