Are We Headed Towards Another Government Shutdown? Here’s What Everyone’s Saying
Trump’s tweet about CHIP almost upends budget negotiations
Every year, Congress faces the same budgetary deadline and every year, drama surrounding said deadline engulfs the news cycle. You’d think at some point they’d plan ahead and sort this business out well in advance of the deadline, but it’s much harder to lambast your opponent and score political points that way.
The deadline to fund the ever-growing federal government is Friday. Going into Thursday, it looked as though lawmakers were close to a deal.
Trump was using funding for his long-promised border wall as leverage, promising to support a legally codified solution to DACA (the extra-legal program created by President Obama that put Dreamers in indefinite legal limbo) in exchange for wall funding.
Also at issue is CHIP, the federally funded Children’s Health Insurance Program, which, with mere days of funding remaining unless Congress strikes a deal, has become a bargaining chip and a WHY DO YOU HATE THE CHILDREN rallying cry for Democrats and liberals.
Unable to come to an agreement on DACA, Republicans tossed CHIP onto the table as a way to lure Democrat support for a short-term funding resolution, giving everyone more time to hash out the DACA problem.
Then Thursday morning, Trump began tweeting, upending the entire discussion and confusing lawmakers who thought their negotiations were in line with the president’s goals.
First, Trump tweeted about The Great Southern Wall, reitierating again his stance on its importance, riling Democrats into a tizzy:
The Wall is the Wall, it has never changed or evolved from the first day I conceived of it. Parts will be, of necessity, see through and it was never intended to be built in areas where there is natural protection such as mountains, wastelands or tough rivers or water…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018
….The Wall will be paid for, directly or indirectly, or through longer term reimbursement, by Mexico, which has a ridiculous $71 billion dollar trade surplus with the U.S. The $20 billion dollar Wall is “peanuts” compared to what Mexico makes from the U.S. NAFTA is a bad joke!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018
We need the Wall for the safety and security of our country. We need the Wall to help stop the massive inflow of drugs from Mexico, now rated the number one most dangerous country in the world. If there is no Wall, there is no Deal!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018
But it was his tweet about CHIP that left lawmakers confused:
CHIP should be part of a long term solution, not a 30 Day, or short term, extension!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018
At the moment, the Republican leadership is split on Trump’s CHIP tweet. Some are hoping it’s like FISA, where he tweeted and then took it back. others genuinely have no idea what he means
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 18, 2018
The current house Continuing Resolution package has a six-year extension of CHIP, not a 30 day extension
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) January 18, 2018
Then Trump tweeted a shutdown would be disasterous:
A government shutdown will be devastating to our military…something the Dems care very little about!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018
Trump’s tweets almost tanked (according to our Hill betters) whatever Congressional negotiations were in the works. Following the tweets, the White House released a statement clarifying that Trump backs the short-term funding resolution meant to stave off a shutdown.
From Politico:
President Donald Trump is backing the short-term funding legislation being pushed by House Republican leaders, the White House said Thursday, just hours after the president caused confusion in the efforts to keep the government open.
“The President supports the continuing resolution introduced in the House,” White House principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah said in a statement. “Congress needs to do its job and provide full funding of our troops and military with a two year budget caps deal. However, as the deal is negotiated, the President wants to ensure our military and national security are funded. He will not let it be held hostage by Democrats.”
And a memo from McConnell (reportedly) that was most certainly meant to be seen publicly:
Colleague Mike Emanuel rpts McConnell sends GOPers memo saying
"We should all plan to stay through this weekend if Senate Democrats..are willing to shut down the government..I hope not a single Republican is inclined to join them..We are strongest when we stick together.."— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 18, 2018
This round of budget negotiations is almost identical to the 2014 fiasco that led to a government shutdown. The House Freedom Caucus caucused with Democrats when Republicans attempted to beef up border security.
We’ve seen this show before (see also, 2014) https://t.co/rKXJUWXYYc
— Kemberlee Kaye (@KemberleeKaye) January 18, 2018
Democrats say they have the votes to block the bill, even though GOPers suggest they’re confident they can sort this out:
BREAKING NEWS: Senate Democrats say they have votes to block government funding bill Read more: https://t.co/21Ud32zfq8 pic.twitter.com/8Vk0FxI1Sf
— POLITICO (@politico) January 18, 2018
If Congress is able to pass a short-term funding resolution, that deal will only fund the government until February 16 when we get to do the whole thing all over again.
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Comments
Bring on the shutdown! I think it’s going to be hilarious to watch the Dems squirm as Trump starts shutting down their favorite programs.
Must reference Professor Jacobson’s article of Monday, Jan. 15,2018.
Tiny Dickie Durbin deliberately blew up DACA.
“Dick Durbin blew up DACA, deliberately”
https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/01/dick-durbin-blew-up-daca-deliberately/
Shut it down. Please. For a good long time.
Yes.
Our political budgeting system is broken, and we now have irreconcilable fiscal/political differences.
On a brighter note, acting CFPB Director Mulvaney made his first funding request today: $0
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cfpb-mulvaney-funding-20180118-story.html
Hooray! That should be the goal for all government agencies ran at all levels of government: $0 taxes from taxpayers.
That goal is much much more obtainable than the government leeches want “We the People” to know.
Computer Technology already makes entire professions redundant – or totally bogus and un-needed. They only exist today because they’ve pored Billion$ and Trillion$ into lobbying (bribing) politicians!
I guess Professor Jacobson has figured this out also.
“Mick Mulvaney Begins Review of “Entire Operation” Behind CFPB…”
“….Mulvaney has exposed the corruption within the bureau. That sunlight is toxic to Elizabeth Warren and can potentially be politically destructive to the Democrats. If the secrets within the bureau are revealed, there’s a much greater likelihood the bureau will be dissolved…”
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/01/17/mick-mulvaney-begins-review-of-entire-operation-behind-cfpb/
You mean the government will actually be smaller for a short period of time? Be still my beating heart.
And I’m sure that Trump will be taking notes on how well the various departments run with their ‘essential staff’ only.
Fake oath-takers of the democrat party rely solely on the ignorance of the purported ‘cool’ crowd that so ignorantly follows the democrat media’s pop fake-news.
Sad that U2 – who, to their credit, had typically reached out to both sides of the isle on humanity issues (Bono with George W. Bush) – allowed themselves get poisoned into the lying, hate-mongering of the left. So now U2 is on the same level in the gutter as no greater a low-life than al sharpton.
U2’s use of the KKK to denigrate us (Trump is us; WE are Trump) is akin to U2 trivializing victims of Holocaust in Nazi Germany to cynically sell a few records. What a bunch of fake-progressive useful idiots they’ve devolved into. Sadly, it was once ‘cool’ to blindly follow the corrupt, preening clowns of the democrat media. Donald Trump is the ‘new cool.’ (Humans just can’t help love – and follow – an alpha winner with a sense of humor. Which is exactly why so few followed criminal hillary klinton. Hey Swamp Sessions: how’s that investigation going?)
So what’s next for the new fools of U2 – moving into their parents’ basements?
The link to U2’s Trump/KKK video:
https://newswars.com/kkk-marches-at-white-house-in-new-u2-video
I was in my first enlistment when the Fiscal Year (FY) was changed from 1 July-30 June to 1 October-30 September. This was done in 1976 with the idea that Congress, not encumbered with decision making during the heat of summer, would be better able to get a budget finalized on time. Since that time the number of FY budgets that were in fact completed by this new deadline can be counted on the thumbs of one foot!
That would be true if we all had feet with four thumbs.
” You’d think at some point they’d plan ahead and sort this business out well in advance of the deadline….”
BWAHAHAHAHAHA
I have no problem shutting down the federal government. Reagan used that tactic 4 or 5 times to great advantage.
Granted it’s a different era, but that lever is still effective. As such, I take umbrage at Kimberlee’s misstated ‘the 2014 fiasco that led to a government shutdown.’
Fiasco? Ted Cruz led that charge, and while it gained no legislative ground, it paved a solid road for Republicans to regain control of the Senate, plus pad their numbers in the House, which all helped to stalemate former Pres. Lie All the Time (granted, they Rs pissed much of the advantage away, but the concept was proved).
Long game, Kimberlee. Long game.
Apologies for misspelling your name.
Shut it all down. There’s never been any other way to cut spending than by cutting ALL spending.
A government shutdown would be a great boon to freedom. Imagine: the corrupt hacks infesting the FBI, Herr Mueller’s hack squad, etc. would, in theory, be starved.