Miranda Bigham: She’s From Buffalo

As the federal government shutdown rages on, Republicans in Congress have a new headache to worry about as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) clashes with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) about whether to convene to pass an emergency extension of pay for troops.

The shutdown has no end in sight, with Democrats demanding an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that stabilize millions of people's insurance premiums as a condition of their votes, and Republicans refusing to negotiate on this matter until the government reopens.

According to Politico, "the unusual tactical disagreement between the two top congressional leaders played out in front of cameras Tuesday on Capitol Hill as the shutdown heads into its second week."

Johnson, who has not convened the House in days, told reporters this week, “I’m certainly open to that. We’ve done it in the past. We want to make sure that our troops are paid.”

Thune, however, disagreed, saying, “Honestly, you don’t need that.”

“Obviously, there are certain constituencies — many of them are going to be impacted in a very negative way by what’s happened here. But the simplest way to end it is not try to exempt this group or that one or that group. It’s to get the government open," he added.

In Thune's view, Republicans should hold firm and not even call the House back until Democrats in the Senate agree to pass the funding bill the House already passed.

Further complicating the issue is that House Republicans have avoided swearing in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ). Grijalva is the final vote needed for a Trump-opposed bipartisan discharge petition for the House to compel the Trump administration to release the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case files.

But as a consequence of the House's inaction, noted policy analyst Matthew Yglesias, this inaction is also to the GOP's detriment, as with the House gone, they are incapable of forcing messaging votes to try to shift blame for the shutdown onto Democrats.

Former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff Miles Taylor thinks he's probably next on the list of people to get the James Comey treatment from President Donald Trump.

Trump demanded that the Justice Department act on the former FBI director with a prosecution. On Wednesday, Comey was arraigned in court, and Taylor was in court to watch.

"I showed up because I agree or disagree with James Comey's decisions over the years, to me, this is so obviously a case of selective and vindictive prosecution, and sets an extraordinary precedent. Now, I'd be remiss if I didn't say I think that precedent probably affects my fate as well. I'm on the president's enemies list. I think that there's a coin flip chance he tries to put me in the same shoes as James Comey, charge me with something that's obscure," Taylor surmised.

He went on to assert Comey's rights are being violated — and that would apply to anyone in that situation.

"I think it was important for people to go up there, including former Trump officials like myself, to be there at the courthouse and to point out that this is, again, a vindictive prosecution," Taylor added.