Capitol Hill Aides Hoping A Disaster Will Strike to End Shutdown

As the longest government shutdown in American history lurches toward its fifth week, a grim but growing consensus has begun to emerge on Capitol Hill: There may be no way out of this mess until something disastrous happens.

This is, of course, not a sentiment lawmakers are eager to share on the record. But in interviews this week with congressional staffers on both sides of the aisle (whom I granted anonymity in exchange for candor), I heard the same morbid idea expressed again and again.

The basic theory—explained to me between weary sighs and defeated shrugs—goes like this: Washington is at an impasse that looks increasingly unbreakable. President Donald Trump is dug in; so is Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Democrats have public opinion on their side, but the president is focused on his conservative base. For a deal to shake loose in this environment, it may require a failure of government so dramatic, so shocking, as to galvanize public outrage and force the two parties back to the negotiating table.

In these interviews, I heard an array of macabre hypotheticals—from airplane crashes to food-safety scares, TSA strikes to terrorist incidents. But the one theme that ran through every conversation was a sense that the current political dynamics won’t change until voters get a lot angrier.

Trump shares op-ed saying furloughed workers should "find other work, never return and not be paid" https://t.co/evWOJDGpuo pic.twitter.com/x7enrwAxns

— The Hill (@thehill) January 16, 2019

President Trump signed a bill providing back pay to federal employees affected by the ongoing partial government shutdown, the White House announced https://t.co/HPgtVfVs4u

— CNN (@CNN) January 17, 2019