President Donald Trump's government shutdown isn't just hurting government workers who are going without paychecks -- it's also harming his own policies.
Politico reports that the shutdown is "threatening important pieces" of Trump's agenda, ranging from rolling back Obama-era regulations to fighting the opioid epidemic.
Among other things, the shutdown has forced the White House to furlough employees who were working on deregulating the energy industry, as well as some who were coordinating the effort to end the deadly opioid addiction crisis. Additionally, a prolonged shutdown could delay an effort to get Congress to vote on the president's renegotiated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
"There is no question that an extended shutdown will harm the administration’s regulatory reform agenda," Dan Byers, vice president for policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute, tells Politico. "They faced a challenging clock to begin with, so a delay of even just a few weeks could significantly impact their ability to advance rulemakings in a timely manner."
Mike Mikulka, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Chapter 704, tells Politico that Trump sabotaging his own policies might be the lone upside of the shutdown.
"Since most of the regulatory activity that EPA is doing is of the deregulatory nature, to me, that’s great for the health and the environment," he said.