While a government shutdown was avoided Thursday when the Congress passed, and President Donald Trump signed a Continuing Resolution (CR) extending government funding until December 22nd, this only postpones a problem. It doesn’t resolve any of the crucial issues surrounding the funding of the government for the 2020 fiscal year that began on October 1.

It appears that a final resolution continues to be difficult to achieve due to the political stalemate over funding the President's southern border wall. At this point it doesn't appear that either side has an endgame strategy, and it’s possible that the President could use a shutdown crisis as a way to divert attention from impeachment and motivate his base by fighting against illegal immigration and for the wall.

China

While impeachment grabbed the headlines, the D.C. development that might have more policy impact is the passage of legislation putting pressure on mainland China to maintain the political freedom Hong Kong still enjoys. The legislation would require the Secretary of State to annually certify that Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to keep its special trading status with the US.

The bill also grants the US Treasury Department authority to place sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials who are de...

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