It is biting, its reach extending, with 900,000 federal workers now on unpaid leave and 700,000 ordered to work without pay. Over the weekend, the Supreme Court temporarily halted a lower court order requiring the administration to fully fund the food stamps programme. Not surprisingly, the Democratic position is popular, with voters consistently blaming Republicans for the shutdown since it began. He appears to be paying the heaviest price politically for the shutdown. Most notably, Supreme Court justices have to rule about the legality of his central policy instrument, his “liberation day” tariffs.
