The absence of urgency ‐ and the utter disregard for the bad optics of conceding failure before the clock ran out ‐ strikes a sharp contrast with spending impasses of the past.
Previous debates were marked by a fierce scramble to find agreement right up to the deadline ‐ complete with marathon midnight meetings and wee-hour floor votes ‐ followed by hours or days of frantic negotiations to reopen the government, if only as a public demonstration of congressional competence.
Not this time.
As roughly a quarter of the federal government went dark at midnight Friday, there were few signs of life in the Capitol. The halls echoed with emptiness as leaders in both parties had departed hours before and many rank-and-file lawmakers were already on planes back home for the December holidays.