Trump’s Government Shutdown 2018/19
As the government shutdown enters its 30th day and 800,000 federal employees face a financial crisis, President Donald Trump, Senate leader Mitch McConnel, and House speaker, Nancy Pelosi are playing political games, while still getting paid, unlike the rank and file federal workers, who are facing financial ruin, if this shutdown continues, while working unpaid, because their job is considered essential.
Clearly, these ‘elected representatives’ don’t give a f**k about every day American workers. The fact that they excluded themselves from the shutdown, to continue to get their $174,000+ salaries while the government is shut down, tells you everything you need to know about their solidarity with workers.
Starting at the beginning, President Trump refused to sign a continuing resolution, which passed the House and Senate, to keep the government open thru February. Remember, this was just before Christmas, where we heard stories of federal employees returning gifts due to the uncertainty of their pay situation, never mind, Merry Christmas federal workers, it’s more like f**k you federal workers.
Moving forward into the New Year, a new Congress was formed, the Democrats wrote and voted for a deal to reopen government, only for Senate majority leader Mitch McConnel to refuse to even allow a vote because Trump would not sign it, should it pass the Senate. Which, to say the least, is utter bullsh*t, this is supposed to be a democracy, not a dictatorship, where there’s a ‘my way or the highway’ mentality.
In the last week, we have seen Nancy Pelosi playing political games, suggesting that Trump’s state of the union address be postponed, giving it as a written statement or deliver it from the Oval Office while the government is shut down, citing security concerns, to which, Trump responded by not allowing Pelosi and a delegation of lawmakers the use of a military plane for a scheduled visit to Afghanistan.
Yesterday, President Trump gave a speech, in which he offered protections for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children for 3 years, in exchange for $5.7 billion of congressional funding for his signature southern border wall. Which, the Democrats immediately rejected, Congress cannot allow Trump to take hostages to get what he wants. If the Democrats cave in now, that sends a message that the President can hold the country hostage, every time he wishes to further his agenda.
As a response to Pelosi rejection Trump’s ‘compromise’, he has put a veiled threat out there that unless he gets his border wall funding, he will deport 11 million undocumented immigrants from the United States. And now, suddenly, Senate leader McConnel is willing to have a vote on Trump’s compromise bill, knowing that if it passes the Senate, it will not pass the house, and we are back where we started 30 days ago when the government was shut down, and still no financial relief for the 800,000 federal workers.
I’m sure that Trump knows that his signature border wall will not stop the flow of drugs or immigrants. He is playing to his base, the MAGA hat wearing, ‘build the wall’ brigade. It is an absolute disgrace that the president and Congress are using people as pawns to further their own political agenda.
Who do I blame for the shutdown? President Donald J. Trump, his refusal to sign a continuing resolution to keep the government
A final note, you know who else takes hostages? terrorists, who according to Trump are also coming in from Mexico. Sure, that makes sense, fly to South America, then travel thousands of miles to cross the southern border to enter the United States. This administration spouts lies and