The 800,000 federal workers who are expected to miss their second paycheck in the coming days are the most extreme example yet of a negotiating tactic President Trump has used repeatedly since taking office.
He creates — or threatens to create — a calamity, and then insists he will address the problem only if his adversary capitulates to a separate demand.
Trump has described this approach as creating leverage and negotiating, but Democrats and other opponents have said it amounts to “hostage taking.”