Have any of you ever wanted a job so bad but after a while, you regret taking it? Some, if not most of you would say “yes”, while the rest would find another job or “deal” with the one that you have. With that sentiment is probably how Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is feeling right now. Congress has just returned from its August recess only to stare at a looming government shutdown, that if not resolved, will affect millions of Americans. The ones that won’t be affected are the rich/wealthy and yes, members of Congress. Various functions of the federal government will shut down or be severely reduced including the furlough of federal employees who will not be paid until after a shutdown ends. Not all federal employees will stop working because there is a group that is called “essential employees” who must remain on the job even if they will not be paid until after a shutdown. Air traffic controllers are considered essential because, after all, we don’t want airplanes crashing into each other. Those employees who make sure people continue to receive their Social Security and Medicare benefits will remain on the job. Other governmental functions will be affected that will be noticeable, but if certain members of Congress really cared, this would never have happened in the first place. What those members of Congress are doing, is only to score political points especially since 2024 is a big election year. The party that is in control of the House wants to “punish” President Biden through his son Hunter, even though his son has nothing to do with a government shutdown. Republicans will talk about reckless spending only when they don’t control Congress or the White House, while they conveniently forget how much they give to the wealthy through generous tax breaks and spending cuts. All of a sudden, it’s the deficit, something that was hardly mentioned when Trump was in office.

Speaker McCarthy has his hands/plate full with a rebellious conservative Congress that is threatening to shut down the government if he does not give in to their demands. One of those demands is to begin an impeachment inquiry against President Biden for his “high crimes and misdemeanors” allegedly committed in office that are non-existent. One “crime” that is alleged is that President Biden has “weaponized” the federal government because conservatives lament that the president is doing all that he can “to get” even with Donald Trump following the last presidential election. There are other priorities the president would like to spend money on like further support for the Ukraine war effort, but many Republicans oppose the war that Vladimir Putin started. As long as Trump doesn’t oppose what Putin is doing, neither will Republicans. McCarthy has already been threatened with his “own impeachment” in the House by some Republicans if he doesn’t push forward an impeachment inquiry because all that it would take under a new House rule that a single member could call for a vote to remove McCarthy from his job. No Democrats are jumping in line to be the first to do that, but Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz has suggested that could happen. Then there is Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene who seems to be everywhere, openly saying that she will not vote to avert a shutdown because you guessed it, unless a vote is called to begin an impeachment inquiry.

As mentioned before, McCarthy is caught between the old “rock and a hard place” to the “behind the eight ball”, because, in an effort to hold onto the Speakership, he has flirted with the idea of opening an inquiry just to pacify certain members like Greene and those on the so-called “Freedom Caucus” wing of the Republican Party, as a Jim Jordan led committee continues to investigate the relationship between President Biden and Hunter as it relates to questionable business practices by the son. Despite the months-long committee work done by Jordan, no tangible or credible evidence has emerged to criminally charge either man. It’s all about politics and winning back the White House for Donald Trump. They know it, the American people know it, as does the rest of the world. The Senate has already passed its version of a spending plan to avert a government shutdown. Now the ball is in the House’s court. If the government shuts down, so do any investigations/inquiries on the federal level. Fani Willis can continue her thing. Kevin McCarthy’s headache is not going to go away. Once again America shows how some of her “brightest” leaders perform on the world stage, prompting many in the world to say that they have seen this act before. It wasn’t good the first time, not worth watching it again. Remember, the world is watching. So is God.