ZWF: The government stays open and so does the drama
Zander’s Weekend Facts #86: Sunday, October 1, 2023
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, how a deal came together at the last minute to avert a shutdown of the federal government, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines you need to know about from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast! Episode 118 provides a breakdown of the actors’ and writers' strikes in Hollywood. Download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, October 1, 2023:
A government shutdown is averted, for now
Somewhat surprisingly, America is waking up this Sunday with a federal government that is still fully funded.
After days of negotiations - mostly between House Republicans - failed to result in a deal to fund the government, suddenly a temporary 45-day funding bill reached the floor of the House of Representatives on Saturday.
While the move was unexpected, it was one of two realistic options that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) had. The other: Rely on fellow Republicans (including notoriously unpredictable far-right members) to vote for a bill that would include massive spending cuts and almost certainly fail in the Senate.
It appeared McCarthy had taken the other option on Friday, when he allowed what was called the Spending Reduction and Border Security Act to get a vote on the House floor. The bill cut government spending across-the-board by 30%, except for national defense. But even that couldn’t pass the body, failing 198-232 after receiving no Democratic votes and over 20 Republican ‘No’ votes.
So that bill’s failure on Friday but it much more likely a shutdown would happen.
Then House Republicans met Saturday morning to consider a 45-day continuing resolution that would feature no spending cuts, include disaster aid, but also have no aid for Ukraine. A meeting that was apparently quite testy.
Ultimately, McCarthy bucked far-right members of his conference to introduce the resolution, but knew he needed support from some Democrats.
Democrats insisted on having 90 minutes to actually read the bill, which was denied. Instead, they motioned to adjourn the House, an effort to buy time to read the bill. That’s when a fire alarm went off, apparently pulled by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY).
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) ultimately told Democrats to support the bill, even with it’s lack of funding for Ukraine. In response, just one Democrat voted against the bill. 90 Republicans didn’t vote for the bill. (The $300 million in funding for Ukraine is likely to be voted on at least in the Senate, with Democrats calling on the bill to be brought to a vote when the House returns.)
But on a 331-91 margin, the House overwhelmingly voted in favor of the bill. The Senate then hours later approved the funding bill on an 88-9 vote, all nine ‘no’ votes being Republicans. And just minutes before the 12:00 am et deadline, President Biden signed the bill to keep the federal government funded until November 17.
So in less than two months, we’ll likely be in this same position yet again.
Then there’s also the prospect of Speaker McCarthy’s job. While far-right Republican members have failed to rally around a single candidate and likely wouldn’t have the votes at the moment, it’s important to remember that McCarthy agreed to have just one member of his conference call for a vote to remove him from the Speakership.
Once again, it’s the divisions within the Republican party, particularly in the House, that have caused unnecessary drama to take place in Congress. First, with the debt ceiling a few months ago, and now with funding the government. Both times, it was Democrats who made sure that disaster did not strike (as many Republicans appear to not care.)
The following chart showing control of Congress and the White House during the government shutdowns of the last thirty years then seems to make much more sense:
For more information on this week’s top story, here’s an article from NBC News - Highlights: Congress passes bill to keep the government open, averting a shutdown
What Zander’s been reading
With Oregon State University and Washington State University the only remaining schools signed on with the Pac-12 Conference next year, they’re starting to get creative with their future options. One reported option would bring a system of promotion and relegation, popular among international soccer leagues, to college football for the first time.
Check out this week’s featured article at ESPN - What would relegation in college football look like
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the Sporting Club:
NFL Week 4: The Detroit Lions opened week four in the NFL with their fourth straight win over rival Green Bay Packers, taking down the Packers 34-20 in Green Bay. Moving over to Sunday action, The Falcons and Jaguars play in London in the first international game of the season at 9:30 am et on ESPN+. At 1:00 pm et, the Browns host the Ravens, Commanders take on the Eagles, and Dolphins face the Bills. At 4:00 pm et, the Raiders play the Chargers, the Cowboys host the Patriots, and the Cardinals travel to the Bay Area to take on the 49ers. At 8:20 pm et tonight, the Jets host the Chiefs. Then on Monday night, the Seahawks will take on the Giants, also at Metlife Stadium.
College Football Week 5: #1 Georgia spent most of the time in their week five matchup against Auburn on their heels, not leading until the fourth quarter but eventually taking a 27-20 victory on the road. Colorado’s comeback bid against #6 USC fell short, with the Trojans winning 48-41. Ranked teams who did fall included #22 Florida losing 33-14 to Kentucky, #17 Duke losing a lead in the final minute to fall to #11 Notre Dame 21-14, #13 LSU losing a shoot-out against #20 Ole Miss 55-49, and #3 Texas downing #24 Kansas 40-14. Elsewhere, #19 Oregon State took out #10 Utah 21-7 on Friday, #2 Michigan dominated Nebraska 45-7, and #14 Oklahoma beat Iowa State 50-20.
Damian Lillard: The Milwaukee Bucks pulled off the most shocking trade of the NBA offseason on Wednesday, adding superstar Damian Lillard. Lillard initially requested to be traded from the Portland Trail Blazers in July but only saw the Miami Heat as destination. Lillard reportedly opened up his preferred options in recent days, allowing the Bucks to pair him with former league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Phoenix Suns were also involved in the trade, adding four players including Grayson Allen and Jusuf Nurkic. The Trail Blazers received DeAndre Ayton, Jrue Holiday, Toumani Camara, a 2029 first-round pick and two pick swaps in the deal. NBA training camps are set to open on Tuesday.
Ryder Cup: The biennial Ryder Cup wraps up today at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy with Team Europe dominating the first two days of the competition. After Saturday’s play, Team Europe holds a 10.5 to 5.5 lead over Team USA, needed 14.5 points to win the event. Team USA has not won the Ryder Cup outside of the U.S. since 1993. Coverage of the final singles matches began at 5:30 am et and continues through 1:00 pm et this afternoon on NBC.
WNBA Playoffs: One team has already clinched a spot in the 2023 WNBA Finals. After sweeping the Dallas Stars 3-0 in the Semifinals, the Las Vegas Aces are marking their second consecutive appearance in the final round of the postseason. The Aces won the franchise’s first championship last season against the Connecticut Sun. This season, the Suns will face either the Sun or New York Liberty, who face off in Game 4 of their series later today at 3:00 pm et on ABC. If the Liberty win, they advance to the finals. However, if the Sun win, a Game 5 will take place on Tuesday at 8:00 pm et on ESPNU and NBA TV. The finals will not begin until next Sunday, October 8, with Game 1 taking place in Las Vegas at 3:00 pm et on ABC.
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
Dianne Feinstein: Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California passed away on Friday at the age of 90. Feinstein had served in the Senate since first being elected in 1992. Earlier in her life, Feinstein served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 1969 to 1978 before becoming the city’s mayor after Mayor George Moscone had been shot and killed. California Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to name a Democrat to fill Feinstein’s seat until the 2024 election. Feinstein had previously announced she would not seek reelection, setting up a competitive primary with multiple House Democrats. Newsom has previously said he would not appoint anyone to the seat that is currently running in the election.
Writers Strike Ends: The Writers Guild of America reached a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers last Sunday to end the writers strike. Negotiators for the two sides had resumed negotiations just days earlier, finding common ground on issues such as base pay raises, streaming residuals, and the size of writers rooms. The deal ended a nearly five-month long strike that brought Hollywood to a halt. The other major union currently striking in the entertainment industry, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, is resuming negotiations with the AMPTP on Monday.
UAW Strike Expands: The United Auto Workers union expanded their strike against two automakers last week, brining an additional 7,000 workers to the picket lines. A General Motors factory in Michigan and a Ford factory in Illinois being added to the strike makes 25,000 members of the UAW currently on strike. On Tuesday, President Joe Biden joined striking workers on the picket lines in Detroit, becoming the first sitting president to do so.
Amazon Lawsuit: The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Amazon on Tuesday alleging the company participated in monopolistic practices. Along with 17 state attorneys general, the FTC alleges that the company’s tactics of forcing merchants to pay a range of fees ended up causing higher prices and lower qualities of goods for consumers. Tuesday’s lawsuit is a result of a four-year investigation that began under the Trump administration in 2019. The suit is seen as one of the toughest tests in the modern era for government regulators against monopolistic practices.
Alabama Voting Rights Case: The Supreme Court blocked the state of Alabama from delaying a decision to create a new congressional districts map. In June, the court ruled that the state must draw a map including two majority Black districts because the current map with only one such district is a violation of the Voting Rights Act. Republicans in the Alabama legislature instead increased the percentage of Black voters in one district from 30% to 40%. When a lower court then appointed a special master to draw a map with two majority Black districts, Alabama Republicans appealed to the Supreme Court, who then denied their request to stop the special master.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment! That includes the next episode of the Zander’s Facts Podcast, which comes out this Wednesday!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The facts in print return next Sunday, October 8, 2023.
