Trump Blasts Democrats, Blames Them After Claiming He’d Own Government Shutdown
While the capital is locked in a game of cat and mouse, over 800,000 federal workers will have their lives hanging in the balance as they wait for a solution to the government shutdown.
The government officially went into a partial government shutdown as of 12 am Eastern Standard Time. Such came after United States President Donald Trump refused to sign legislation to fund the government which did not contain $5 billion of spending for his proposed border wall between the United States and Mexico.
“The partial shutdown won’t have much effect on your holiday plans. The post office will stay open, so gift and holiday card stragglers can still put them in the mail. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents would still work, and air travel would continue virtually unaffected,” CBS News began. “Government employees who are considered “essential,” such as Secret Service agents and Customs and Border Patrol agents and U.S. troops deployed at the border, would still be working. They will eventually get paid for the days they worked during the shutdown, but they won’t be paid until after it ends,” they continued explaining the process.
Trump’s Wall
However, there are a number of inconsistencies with the President’s demands for a ‘wall’ and how much it will cost American taxpayers. Of note, President Trump originally campaigned on forcing Mexico to pay for his proposed wall. Earlier this month, President Trump claimed a wall would cost $15 billion, which is far below his original estimate of the $25 billion he originally stated Mexico would have to pay. Research compiled by the Brookings Institute state the wall would cost anywhere between $12-$70 billion to construct, not counting annual maintenance.
Several days ago a tweet from the President admitted his plans for a wall has altered to a fence; which is similar to the border security proposals of Secretary Hillary Clinton, yet President Trump continues to use ‘border wall’ terminology.
The Democrats, are saying loud and clear that they do not want to build a Concrete Wall – but we are not building a Concrete Wall, we are building artistically designed steel slats, so that you can easily see through it….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2018
“Senator Mitch McConnell should fight for the Wall and Border Security as hard as he fought for anything. He will need Democrat votes, but as shown in the House, good things happen. If enough Dems don’t vote, it will be a Democrat Shutdown!” Trump tweeted on early Friday, retracting his word to take credit for the shutdown.
Democrats Respond to Government Shutdown
A likely 2020 frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for President, Bernie Sanders quickly called out the President’s lie and willingness to hurt American workers affected by the shutdown. “The Democrats, whose votes we need in the Senate, will probably vote against Border Security and the Wall even though they know it is DESPERATELY NEEDED. If the Dems vote no, there will be a shutdown that will last for a very long time. People don’t want Open Borders and Crime!” Trump would also tweet on early Friday.
"I am proud to shut down the government… I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down. I’m not going to blame you for it." –@realDonaldTrump, last Tuesday https://t.co/yAAyB4yn8k
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 21, 2018
Think about it for a minute.
Democrats and Republicans come together, after a whole lot of debate, and agree on how to keep the government open.
And then, after a day of right-wing media criticism, the president undermines all of that. To say the least, that is problematic.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 21, 2018
The current showdown could go a number of different direction. The Democratic Party would damage the goodwill received after the mid-term if they were to fold from their position to not fund the wall. However, any monetary concession would anger their base with Flint, Michigan still without clean water and the power grid in Puerto Rico continuing to have issues — in combination with the Nancy Pelosi snubbing the Green New Deal.
Direct Affects of the Government Shutdown
Unfortunately, while the capital is locked in a game of cat and mouse, over 800,000 federal workers will have their lives hanging in the balance as they wait for a solution. “More than 420,000 people will have to work without pay and 380,000 will be furloughed, unable to return to work or receive pay until their departments are funded,” reports The New York Times.
“More than three-quarters of workers (78 percent) are living paycheck-to-paycheck to make ends meet — up from 75 percent last year and a trait more common in women than men — 81 vs. 75 percent,” Career Builder states from their August 2017 research, highlighting the seriousness of individuals missing earned payment.
Yeah, I watched as Trump declared he would shoulder the mantle of Government shutdown proudly. I was not surprised that he turned around and tried to give it back to the Democrats. He is untrustworthy. He cannot be held to his word. His word means nothing to him, so it should mean nothing to us. I’m Canadian and thankful, but still, his lack of principles is having far-reaching effects and Canada is having to deal with China because of him. Looking forward to the day we can have a real President in office rather than this poser.