Biden says no shutdown unless 'somebody decides to be totally erratic'

published 2 December 2021

President Biden on Thursday dismissed any threat of a government shutdown, "assuring a plan with 'everything in place' was supported by a majority of Senate Republicans and Democrats," The Washington Post reports.

When asked by a reporter if there would be a shutdown on Friday, Biden, who had just engaged with Senate leaders directly, confidently answered "no," before calling the question "silly."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

On Thursday, leaders announced they had struck a deal to fund the government into February of next year, a stopgap measure ahead of Friday's deadline but a solution nonetheless, the Post reports. The House is expected to vote on the bill Thursday afternoon, but the Senate remains "paralyzed by partisan bickering, as conservatives mounted a fresh political stand against the Biden administration's response to the coronavirus," writes the Post.

Explore More

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox