With over 2 million federal government employees, President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) just tossed out about one quarter or 800,000 government workers. When Trump, Pelosi and Schumer met at the White House for a photo-op Dec. 11 at the White House, things didn’t go well. Vice President Mike Pence watched the three bicker about Trump’s request for more border security, something Pelosi and Schumer laughed at iN Trump’s face. Both grinned with delight telling Trump he wouldn’t get one nickel for his border wall, today, tomorrow or ever. Both seemed oblivious to the realty of Trump not signing a continuing budget resolution to keep the government funded. When Pelosi and Schumer walked away last night, they blamed the government shutdown on Trump’s “temper tantrum.”
When you consider that border security was a top priority of Trump’s 2016 campaign, with all the caravans and chaos on the U.S.-Mexican border, you’d think Pelosi and Schumer wouldn’t play politics. While they think at the moment that polls support their stubbornness over spending anything on the border wall, Trump is president, responsible as commander-in-chief for U.S. national security. Given that Trump’s a negotiator, you’d think that Pelosi and Schumer would cough up a little more cash to placate Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion in border security. With Trump already allocated $1.6 billion, you’d think that’S about around $2 billion more could get the government back to work. Anyway you cut it, responsible two-party government requires some good-faith negotiation, not, as Pelosi and Schumer told Trump, to go jump in a lake.
Both sides will eventually have to give in at some point, but not before he Christmas holiday ends Dec. 27, when lawmakers return to Washington. Essential government workers will have to go to work without pay, unless both sides agree on a continuing budget resolution. Saying that Trump’s border wall is worthless and ineffective doesn’t acknowledge the fact that it’s a priority for the president, regardless of what Pelosi and Schumer think. White House officials wouldn’t say whether or not Trump would accept less than the $5.7 billion in border security funding. “It’s about getting the appropriate amount of money that’s necessary to build those barriers and being able to have the flexibility to built them,” said an unnamed senior White House official, hinting that Trump would compromise on less that the full $5.7 billion requested from Congress.
Schumer and Pelosi continue to demonize Trump, thinking they’re scoring points with Democratic voters. But as the shutdown wears on, there will be plenty of blame to go around. Schumer accused Trump of being “beholden” to the far right, he claims is pushing for a border wall. Millions of Americans have watched the crisis on the border with illegal aliens hopping over the fence to get into the U.S. Whether you’re Democrat or Republican, no one can deny that thousands of miles of borders barriers need an overhaul. “The Senate is not interested in swindling American taxpayers for an unnecessary, ineffective and wasteful policy,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. Whether Schumer despises Trump or not, there’s a consensus that there needs more spending on border security, whether it’s a wall or enhancements to the existing miles of borders fencing.
As the shutdown continues, the American public sees more of the vitriol coming from Pelosi and Schumer. Trump’s been consistent all along about the need for more border security, including building a wall where it’s appropriate. Schumer blames Trump for being “unwilling to shoulder even the slightest critique from conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh or Fox News Hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham.” What Schumer and Pelosi don’t get is that many Americans believe spending on more border security is necessary. Trump has the backing in the U.S. Senate from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), incoming Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who backs the government shutdown to get more border security money from Congress. As the shutdown wears on, Schumer and Pelosi will eventually come off their untenable positions on border security.
Anyone that knows Trump’s negotiating style knows that he’s inclined to walk away to help push things along. Schumer and Pelosi know that it’s unreasonable to insult the president and say they wouldn’t cough up one penny for a border wall. No reasonably-minded politician believes that there’s no room for negotiation. “Regrettably, America has now entered a Trump Shutdown,” said Pelosi and Schumer. “Republicans control the House, the Senate and the White House. But instead of honor his responsibility to the American public, President Trump threw a temper tantrum and convinced House Republicans in the middle of the holiday season,” said Schumer and Pelosi. Playing a game of chicken with nearly 800,000 federal workers, Pelosi and Schumer will have to rethink their no negotiation position, now imperiling Wall Street and the U.S. economy.
