Skip to content
RollCall logo

Podcasts

The great ‘meh’: Scenes from a shutdown

Political Theater, Episode 384

The blinds at the ticket window for the ferry to Fort Sumter are closed in Charleston, S.C., on Oct. 2, 2025 due to the government shutdown.
The blinds at the ticket window for the ferry to Fort Sumter are closed in Charleston, S.C., on Oct. 2, 2025 due to the government shutdown. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
By Jason Dick and Mary Ellen McIntire
Posted October 3, 2025 at 11:18am

Jason Dick and Mary Ellen McIntire talk about how the government shutdown hasn’t created much urgency on Capitol Hill, even though the effects could be significant, why each party thinks they have the upper hand and how it might play in upcoming races like the Virginia governor’s race, where a lot of furloughed federal workers have a vote. 

Show Notes:

Recent Stories

Reps. Nancy Mace and Lauren Boebert are seen at a hearing on March 4. “I’m tired of being treated like a second-class citizen in this place,” Mace says.

A GOP ‘MeToo’ moment? Not yet

Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks to reporters before a Senate Budget Committee hearing on Tuesday.

Senators clash over sanctuary policies amid DHS shutdown

Capitol Ink | King of the world?

As the Supreme Court seems primed to obliterate what remains of the Voting Rights Act, longtime Rep. James E. Clyburn has a message worth hearing, Curtis writes. Above, Clyburn addresses the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August 2024.

Are Americans seeking justice tough enough to meet the moment?

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., hold a news conference with Jeffrey Epstein survivors on Sept. 3, 2025.

In Massie district, Trump’s revenge push will clash with keeping House

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., is seen in the U.S. Capitol during a series of votes on April 3, 2025.

Rating change: Montana Senate moves out of Solid