On December 21st, a partial federal shutdown began, openly owned by President Trump. The reaction from many Americans, including those affected by the shutdown, is very supportive of this action. A large group of Americans, Trump supporters of course, really want the border wall. The Democrats response? Well, Nancy Pelosi went to Hawaii for vacation, and the Congress shows no urgency towards meeting to solve this problem.
With three days left in this Congress’ term, the President and legislative branches are each not budging from their positions. The House, presently controlled by Republicans, delivered Mrs Pelosi a hard dose of reality, passing the measure to keep the government open including a $5.7 bn outlay for the border wall. That vote, 217-185, did have nine GOP congressmen voting against, showing the establishment’s disdain for the border wall. Nonetheless, the overwhelming majority of Republicans supported the measure.
However, Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, appears to have taken this wall matter to the level of personal vendetta, probably in response to the President’s trapping him and Nancy Pelosi on camera as they argued with the President about the wall. Both Congresswoman and Senator were publicly embarrassed and extremely angry at being called out publicly in this manner.
The resentment they have towards the President is personal and visceral, and they are determined to waylay his policy idea in any way possible.
While the mainstream press delivers stories about the hardships caused by the partial federal government shutdown that ensued, Trump’s voter base is energized and very supportive. They express open and joyous support for the President as Mr. Trump himself digs in, and continues to up the ante.
We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall & also change the ridiculous immigration laws that our Country is saddled with. Hard to believe there was a Congress & President who would approve!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2018
Adam Shaw of Fox News reported that the President warned on Friday that if the Democrats do not accede to his demand for wall funding, he will close the US-Mexico border entirely and cut aid to Central American countries, and reduce trade with Mexico.
With both sides refusing to budge and little activity on Capitol Hill amid the holiday break, there are no signs of the impasse ending anytime soon. One member of the House Republican leadership told Fox News on Thursday that a resolution may not emerge until the new year.
But on Friday, Trump not only renewed his demands for the wall, but threatened numerous consequences in the absence of that money. He even suggested pulling back on the recently renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which now goes by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).….The United States looses soooo much money on Trade with Mexico under NAFTA, over 75 Billion Dollars a year (not including Drug Money which would be many times that amount), that I would consider closing the Southern Border a “profit making operation.” We build a Wall or…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2018He then said the U.S. would terminate aid with Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, which he said are doing “nothing for the United States but taking our money,” and referred to reports that another caravan of migrants hoping to get to the U.S. is planning on leaving Honduras in January.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1078638249562775552
While the Democrats and Republicans dither and duck the issue in Washington, Dee Margo, the mayor of El Paso, Texas, the largest American city on the US-Mexico border, had polite, but strong words to say about the situation. His city has seen the release of some 24,000 illegals into the US in recent weeks, because INS and ICE are not able to hold everyone. Those illegals, oddly, are released into the United States, which is where they wanted to be in the first place, so the end result is next to zero border security. This is taxing the resources of El Paso, though the mayor notes that NGOs such as Annunciation House, are helping to feed the migrants:
[Mayor Margo] said the bottom line is that U.S. immigration policy “stinks” and lawmakers have refused to address the situation for years.
“It’s about time somebody steps up and develops a little manhood along the way and determines what they need to do irrespective of the political fallout,” he said, adding that a “myriad” of issues must be dealt with.
Margo said he doesn’t like the term border “wall” but there has been a fence on the El Paso-Mexico border since 2008 and it has worked.
El Paso Mayor Dee Margo speaks about the high effectiveness of the new border fence. Here, an older section is shown.
It should be noted that many thousands of federal workers are inconvenienced, some rather highly, by not receiving paychecks since they are not working. The presumptive Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, is apparently unconcerned about this as she spends her holidays in Hawaii, in a hotel whose rooms range from $899 per night to $4,899 per night. While it is not known what she is paying this time, it is known that at another Kona, HI hotel, she took the $10,000 per night suite on other vacations.
Let them eat cake, eh, Nancy?
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