You've been on this podcast more times than there have been government shutdowns, I think.
I think that's probably true,
because I've lived through really three big government shutdowns since I've had this beat,
so I've been on for more than that.
That's our colleague, Siobhan Hughes, who covers Washington.
And how does this one feel any different from those others?
This is much worse.
So we're 16 days into this shutdown so far, which is about halfway to the record of 34 days.
Do you think we're going to surpass that record?
Well,
it's important to know that the White House is certainly messaging that we are going to surpass that record.
And right now, they certainly aren't putting any pressure on lawmakers to resolve this quickly.
Where are people starting to feel the pain from the shutdown?
It's not affecting every person in the country the exact same way,
but it's multiple small harassments that add up into something bigger.
I was talking to someone who handles coal miner health,
and he said that these little mobile facilities that drive around coal communities to scan for black lung,
those are essentially not operational because there are no X-rays being performed.
So that's not something that's going to hit the entire country,
but it's an aggravation and it starts to wear.