President Trump vowed last week to shut down the government this Fall by not approving spending bills if they fail to contain money funding the building of a physical wall along the southern US border.  Whether or not this is rhetoric or reality, it is undeniably a distraction heading into the new fiscal year.  As of now, Congress appears unlikely to provide the requested funds, though it is possible that they could fund the government anyway over a Presidential veto.  A more possible cause of a shutdown would occur later this calendar year over the increase in the federal debt ceiling.  There is no clear path forward for the passage of such a measure now, though there is widespread agreement that it must happen.  In the meantime, the Office of Management and Budget issued a report that the House “minibus” appropriations measure passed before August recess would trigger sequestration reductions if passed in its current form.  There is no need to worry about that, however, as it is more likely that Elvis will perform live than the bill will be implemented “as is”.  It is more possible, though currently difficult to say by how much, that one of the two funding issues could result in a temporary shut-down sometime this fall.