We’ve entered the 12th day of a partial government shutdown, and as Donald Trump continues to demand a wall, the end does not appear to be near.
Here’s how we got here: Last month, the Republican-held Senate passed legislation to fund the government at its current spending levels until February 8, which included $1.3 billion for border security. Then, after Ann Coulter was mean to him, Trump threw a fit over his border wall and demanded at least $5.6 billion for its construction. He also promised to shut the government down if he didn’t get it, as Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer watched in disbelief. So the ball was in Speaker of the House Paul Ryan’s court. And, in his final act as Speaker, he showed tremendous political courage, bringing the bipartisan spending bill to the floor and daring Trump to veto it he and his fellow House Republicans refused to fund the government without the wall money. That’s why the government shut down on December 21.
Democrats, who officially take control of the House tomorrow, have made reopening the government a priority. They have committed to vote to fund the closed agencies at current levels after they elect Nancy Pelosi as speaker.
Trump, however… not so much. In a lie-filled meeting with congressional leaders in the Situation Room today, he shot down a compromise that Vice President Mike Pence had been working on with Democrats, calling the $2.5 billion it would allocate towards border security insufficient. Instead, he is still demanding $5.6 billion for the construction of a wall—an amount that previously did not receive majority support in the Republican-held Senate. You may be asking, if Trump couldn’t get this funding through a unified Republican government, why does he think he has a shot when Democrats control the House? GREAT QUESTION.
Those affected by Trump’s insistence on prolonging the shutdown include roughly 800,000 federal workers—380,000 of whom have been furloughed (not working and not paid), and 420,000 of whom are required to work without pay, though they may receive back pay after the government reopens. Federal contractors, however, will likely not receive back pay.
Though mandatory programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, as well the Postal Service, food stamps, and active-duty military remain unaffected, the IRS, State Department services, food, drug, and environmental inspections, national parks, and the Smithsonian museums are all closed and/or severely limited.
Whether it’s this latest shut down, removing the US from the Paris climate accord, withdrawing from the Iran deal, punishing Dreamers, and so much else, Donald Trump knows he can use his comfort with destruction and cruelty as leverage against his political opponents, but never forms an actual plan to get what he wants, apart from praise on Fox & Friends.
