Trump has the country swamped in 'ludicrous dysfunction' before being sworn in: analyst

In his column for the Washington Post, longtime political observer Dana Milbank marveled at Donald Trump's ability to gum up the works of the U.S. government more than a month before he is sworn in.

As the analyst noted, the president-elect could have stayed on the sidelines as opposing members of the House hammered out a budget deal to make sure the government was still functioning when he assumes power on Jan. 20, but couldn't keep himself from meddling.

With House Speaker scrambling to get a deal down on Friday with the clock ticking towards midnight, the president-elect, with an assist from billionaire advisor Elon Musk, has the country on edge going into the weekend before Christmas.

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According to Milbank, "he has already returned the country to the unrelenting chaos, and the government to the ludicrous dysfunction, that dominated his first term. And he hasn’t even taken office yet."

Noting a shutdown would be the first since Trump was last in office, he noted that Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) pointed out, "It’s a fascinating mess," to which he added, "this is just the first act of what promises to be a four-year circus."

"For those too young to remember the last go-round, this is what governing looks like under Trump," he predicted. "Musk’s destruction of the spending bill was particularly ugly, for it showed that, with Trump in charge, an unelected megabillionaire can bring the U.S. government to a halt by employing MAGA’s trademark mixture of vitriol, threat and disinformation."

You can read the full piece here.