There is a certain beauty to the American political system. It is not the beauty of a painting or a sunset, mind you. It is the beauty of a car crash in slow motion, or perhaps a very expensive play where everyone forgets their lines but still demands a standing ovation. This week, the House of Representatives put on another one of these tragicomic performances. The subject? The Department of Homeland Security. The plot twist? There wasn’t one.

Despite the screaming, the crying, and the rending of garments over the behavior of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the money has once again been approved. The House voted 220-207 to keep the lights on and the detention centers open. It is a result that surprises absolutely no one who has paid attention to how power actually works, yet we are all expected to act shocked. “How could this happen?” the pundits ask. “We were so angry!” the politicians shout. Yes, you were very angry. But anger is free. Funding bills cost billions. And in Washington, the check always clears.

Let us look at the scene. You have the Democrats, who have spent months telling anyone with a microphone that the tactics used by ICE are heavy-handed, violent, and cruel. They point to the recent chaos in Minnesota. They point to the aggressive crackdowns spearheaded by Donald Trump. They make speeches that sound perfect for the evening news, full of passion and fury. They call it a moral crisis. They call it a stain on the national soul. And then, when it comes time to actually stop the machine by cutting off its fuel supply—money—the machine somehow gets exactly what it needs.

This time, the math came down to seven people. Seven Democrats decided that voting with the Republicans was the right move. Just seven. It is a small number, isn’t it? You could fit them all in a minivan. Yet, these seven individuals were enough to ensure the bill passed. It creates a perfect situation for the party. The vast majority of Democrats can go back to their voters and say, “Look! I voted no! I tried to stop the bad men!” Meanwhile, the seven “pragmatists” ensure that the government stays open and the security agencies get their cash. It is almost as if it were planned that way. Everyone gets to be a hero, and the villain still gets paid. It is a miracle of modern engineering.

We must appreciate the irony of the timing. This vote did not happen in a vacuum. It happened while people are genuinely furious about what is happening on the ground. The reports of violence and heavy-handed tactics are not secrets. They are on the front pages. The "outrage" mentioned in the news is real for the people on the streets. But inside the Capitol building, outrage is just a commodity. It is something you trade. You trade a little bit of outrage for a soundbite, and then you trade a vote for a favor. The reality of ICE agents knocking down doors is very far away from the air-conditioned rooms where 220 members of Congress decided those agents deserved a fully funded budget.

And what of the Republicans? They, at least, are honest about what they want. They want the crackdown. They want the wall, the agents, and the tough talk. They voted for this bill because it is exactly what they promised their voters. There is a refreshing simplicity to their approach. They do not pretend to be sad about funding the Department of Homeland Security. They cheer for it. In a way, they are the only honest actors on the stage. They wrote the script, and they are sticking to it.

The real comedy is found in the surprise of the opposition. Every time this happens, there is a wave of shock. But why? The Department of Homeland Security is a massive, sprawling creature of bureaucracy. It employs thousands. It spends billions. Do we really think a few speeches about morality are going to stop it? In Europe, we learned long ago that bureaucracies are like zombies: you can scream at them, you can run from them, but you cannot reason with them, and they are very hard to kill. The United States is learning this lesson the hard way.

So, the bill passes. The 220 votes carry the day. The 207 who voted no will send out fundraising emails detailing how hard they fought. The seven Democrats who crossed the aisle will say they were being "responsible" and keeping the country safe. The Republicans will take a victory lap. And somewhere in Minnesota, or Texas, or anywhere else, the ICE vans will keep rolling, their gas tanks filled with fresh taxpayer money approved by the very people who claim to despise them.

It is a perfect system, really. Everyone gets to keep their job. The show goes on. The audience boos and hisses, but they keep buying tickets. And the actors? They just bow and wait for the next scene.