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>> comcast is partnering with 1000 community centers so that students from low income families and get the tools they need to be ready for anything. >> comcast supports c-span as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. continues. host: week ahead on the weekend washington. erik, this week is all about the living government shutdown. where do things stand right now? guest: speaker mike johnson released a stopgap bill. this would essentially freeze funding although it is a small increase to defense. mostly programs stay as they are with some exceptions. this is really daring democrats to vote against it and take the

blame for a government shutdown that started on saturday morning. this allows elon musk in his doge operation free reign. that is not in here. if it does pass the house it would go to the senate. democrats, to get this thing through with the filibuster margin, that will be a very interesting vote. this is something that has the votes of enough house republicans to pass because in recent times we have seen some narrow votes and mike johnson and his team putting legislation on the floor. the budget is a method that will greenlight the tax cuts, 2

trillion in entitlement spending. it took arm-twisting, numbers like victoria spartz at the very last minute switching their vote . thomas has already come out against this. he was a no on the budget vote would have never voted for a continued resolution it will be a very tight vote. host: did think jeffrey will lose some democrat moderates? between cr, keeping funding about where it is is what we asked for in the past. guest: looking at the blue dogs and others in any swing district who would feel the heat for government shutdown we had one

member passed away last week, there's a bit of margin there. it will be a very tight vote. the house republicans, that gives them leverage. we have rebels in our own caucus. we have more leverage in talks going forward. host: who would be the seven or eight democrats to most support something like this or put the campaign to pass something once it goes through the house. guest: it's almost guaranteed that john fetterman will vote for this. people like jon ossoff in georgia, up for reelection in

2026, very vulnerable. people like jeanne shaheen running for reelection, it could be among them. host: cook back -- come back to a potential shutdown. a lead editorial in the washington times today saying if there is a shutdown, essential government employees stay on the job and nonessential employees go home and don't get paid until there is a funding bill. it would make the point that there is essential and nonessential government employees. guest: there's an upcoming reduction in force the last big government shutdown, where you

saw essential and nonessential. those who were deemed nonessential. since that shutdown has occurred , there is now a permanent law that after a shutdown, they would proactively pay the non-essential workers. they have that flexibility and they could go in and really add a lot more people to that list one of the interesting things, i'm sorry to use the stopgap bills through september 30 is it doesn't contain earmarks the funded project down to the program and project level, it

also doesn't contain all of the report language, it's always attached to the law, agencies, the top appropriator said without that report language, doge would be even more empowered in the court to make these kinds of changes without congressional approval. host: erik wasson with us, it is our week in washington look. if you have questions or comments, now is the time to call in. democrats (202) 748-8000, republicans (202) 748-8001, independent (202) 748-8002. as we get closer to the south downs the agency's afton have to have the shutdown plan, what will those look like in a second trump administration, will they

even put those out? will that give us some insight into where they might be looking as they go beyond usaid and some of these agencies that have been the early look? guest: we will see friday if we have not made an advance shutdown bill, they will release that, while they have cooperated on the stopgap bill, they are like a traditional omb. host: remind people of omb's rule. they have this unitary boundary. it is not something that has been tested but something that i've been watching very closely. doge and omb is they are

allowed to fire people. you are allowed to efficiencies. could they just pocket the money and put it back to treasury? the 1974 impoundment control act says you have to go to congress and do this fast-track bill. elon musk came to the senate munches -- launches, they said you have to follow this process. you cut the contracts by 83% and let's rescind that money, put it back. that will be interesting, it could be a way to sidestep. it could be whether the administration could not spend money. anti-deficiency, which means you can't spend money congress hasn't given you. if you go out there and start spending money, you could go to

jail. there is no criminal penalty. you could be told this is a no no. it could be very interesting for confrontation. house appropriations chairman very open with this. the trump administration tried it. host: this is why we enjoy having erik wasson on this program. it's not as important as the constitutional issues you just brought up. marco rubio sends this tweet this morning announcing the 83% cuts. make sure at the very end to thank his own staff. that's week coming the monday after reports last week of the dustup between elon musk and marco rubio, donald trump had to

step in and settle things, what is your read on all of that? guest: i've covered marco rubio for many years. elon musk, much more controversial. before the courts the administration has been arguing that doechii is not -- doge is not doing these findings. that could be a constitutional violation right there. the president also made clear they would be firing anybody, that serves the legal case pretty strongly. host: this is chris, woodbridge virginia, you are on with erik wasson. caller: chris year, 28-year-old

african-american, i just wanted to bring some concerns and say good morning sir. i've only voted so many times, i do trust my federal government. everybody a part of this, however you payroll in our government, i thank you. the shutdown, we've had a few of those occurring in the last decade, more than i have seen with my own eyes. are there any more positive and negative impact to this consistent pattern to the organization like the united states government. with ideas like doge coming into play so rapidly, are there any guidelines or parameters that will combat those systems and keeping our fiscal year on track?

without putting too much faith in some of these private corporation ideas, is there anything the constituents of the united states could do to call our local legislation to attest to what is going on or to try and mediate what is going on? lastly, i would like to say the government shutdown again, the continuation of the pattern, does this situation affect our allies and their financial diplomacy as far as on foreign entities, do we need to be worried about how we affect their dollar and not only ours? thank you and have a good day. host: thanks for the questions. where do you want to start? guest: shutdowns and continuing resolutions, are they a bad way? and the stopgaps. full appropriations process,

there's a chance for congress through its oversight power to update contracts. we are seeing in the stopgap for defense, it has never operated in its history under a full year with stopgap measures. the flexibility to move money around and start some new weapons buys. it is especially important for defense contractors that these new weapons systems with submarines, ships, to get underway. the stopgap normally would prevent that. they put some wiggle room language in here. throughout the rest of the agencies they don't have that ability. programs aren't working to move them around. traditionally, congress agrees it is a bad way to run the show.

the need for bipartisan group is led again and again to these funding clips and these continuing resolutions. i think that is actually starting to work. tom cole is the head of the appropriations committee. he was very concerned with doge and elon musk recommending the closure of three buildings in his oklahoma district. he revealed over the weekend he had those reversed. we will see a lot more of that, especially if you have republican members. if you find out the social security office in your area or a federal building, we have seen a lot of cuts to the native american school system, they might be able to get reversed. there were some other questions there. host: about what it means for our allies? guest: the real thing and there

is the end of usaid, many people including marco rubio were big supporters of. they spend a lot on the military. we'll probably have to spend a lot more, sort of posture. with africa especially, you see china and other nations rushing in, russia as well to gain influence. a lot of our critical minerals and resources, especially in africa is spending to combat the aids crisis and other health emergencies, the sudden withdrawal, the lead to global instability. host: we are in fiscal year 2025, we are about six months into the fiscal year. what is going on with fiscal

2026? is there anything happening now to avoid getting into this situation again? guest: you keep backing up and it leads to a continuous circle. the president's budget is the start of the process. that supposed to be the second week of february. that is pretty typical for the first administration. in the past, president trump talked about major cuts that were never made. the deficit ballooned under his presidency. that normally would get reviewed and the committees would start with their hearings. they have a bunch of subcommittees. supposedly during the summer they will pass individual bills. probably we are already in track.

they have a unified control. republicans will put together some deep cuts. they could pay us short term if they can't get the long-term through. in 2026, the risk will be high. to permanently -- all the programs they don't like could lead to a shutdown. host: what would be a short-term fix to this problem? guest: i think people on the hill are talking about a six-week stopgap. it is an automatic spending cut. when they got into law, that is after april 30. they will back up against that deadline to maybe complete the full bills.

they really can't get the long-term stopgap through the house. and then we see things going on for a couple of weeks on that. host: michael in the bay state, republican, good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to have your guests speak to the inefficiency of government. specifically with technology. the distribution of money, which is very inefficient. what unions don't want is they don't want you to discover our the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order.

the chair