Tag: #TrumpShutDown

Trump claims he never said Mexico would cut a check for the wall. Let’s go to the tape.

Back in April 2015 — an era so distant in American history that it barely shimmers in and out of view, cloaked in the haze of everything that’s happened since — Donald John Trump promised the United States that he would build a wall on the border with Mexico and that Mexico would cover the cost.

It was at an event in New Hampshire covered by Paul Steinhauser of NH1 News, targeting the state which, as it turns out, would provide Trump with his first victory in electoral politics. But at the time — despite Steinhauser’s accurate assessment that it wasn’t — it seemed like a joke. The TV guy was going to build a wall for free, huh? Okay. Good luck.

The point, though, is that Trump’s insistence that Mexico would pay for the wall is, in fact, older than his campaign itself. At that New Hampshire event, he even said how it would happen, in broad strokes.

View the complete January 10 article by Philip Bump on The Washington Post website here.

Walz preps state strategy to counter shutdown effects

Gov. Tim Walz plans to outline a short-term state response Tuesday to a partial government shutdown now in its fourth week.

“This is serious,” Walz said Monday at a Capitol briefing, referring to federal dollars that have been tied up and other fallout from the impasse in Washington.

Walz budget chief Myron Frans separately fielded questions from a House committee about the shutdown’s effect on the state.

View the complete January 14 article by Brian Bakst on the MPR website here.

As Trump Speaks To Farmers, His Shutdown Hurts Them

As Trump speaks to the American Farm Bureau Federation today, here’s a look at some of the many ways that his government shutdown is actually hurting farmers across the country:

The Trump Shutdown delayed promised bailout payments to farmers who have been hurt by Trump’s trade policies.

CBS News: “The shutdown, now the longest on record, has suspended some federal aid for farmers — including subsidies for farmers hit by the president’s tariffs.”

Washington Post: “With farmers on the edge of ruin, the U.S. government offered $12 billion in support since September, checks that had become a lifeline.  But with the government shutdown moving into its third week, Boyd was left waiting for his support check to arrive. Other farmers who still must have their crop totals approved by the government to receive aid were left with no way to apply for it.” Continue reading “As Trump Speaks To Farmers, His Shutdown Hurts Them”

DAY 24: Trump Shutdown Hurts Our Economy, Forces Worker To Ration Insulin

As the Trump Shutdown enters its record-breaking 24th day, the impacts continue to worsen. One federal worker, who missed her first paycheck, was forced to ration insulin. The Trump Shutdown is costing our economy billions of dollars and is creating problems for travelers at airports across the country. Here’s the latest:

One federal worker was forced to ration insulin because of the Trump Shutdown.

NBC News: “Federal worker forced to ration insulin because of government shutdown”

The Trump Shutdown curtails infrastructure projects and food-processing inspections.

Wall Street Journal: “The partial federal government shutdown that became the longest on record Sunday is curtailing infrastructure projects, food-processing inspections and economic data used by Wall Street.” Continue reading “DAY 24: Trump Shutdown Hurts Our Economy, Forces Worker To Ration Insulin”

Cybersecurity may suffer as shutdown persists

Members of the House Homeland Security panel, led by Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., are concerned that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the DHS is running with significantly fewer staff. Credit: Bill Clark, CQ Roll Call file photo

Congress remains in the dark about how the spending stalemate has affected DHS’ anti-hacking mission

The partial government shutdown may be making some key federal departments and agencies running with skeletal staffs more vulnerable to cybersecurity breaches, experts said.

Meanwhile, the House Homeland Security Committee, which oversees the Department of Homeland Security, said it remains in the dark about how the shutdown has affected the department’s mission to safeguard critical infrastructure from cyberattacks.

“With so many cyber activities reliant on highly skilled contractors required to augment government personnel, government shutdowns significantly degrade the ability of the government function to meet all of their cyber mission requirements,” said Greg Touhill, president of Cyxtera Federal, a company that provides cybersecurity services to the federal government.

The history of U.S. border apprehensions

Following President Trump’s nationally televised plea to build a border wall, we look at the modern history of the arrest of migrants attempting to enter the United States without authorization.

President Trump addressed the nation Tuesday night about what he calls, “a growing humanitarian and security crisis” at the southern border. As the government shutdown persists, here’s what we know about migration into the United States and what’s happening at the U.S.- Mexico border.

Figures released by the Department of Homeland Security show nationwide apprehensions of migrants entering the country without authorization are at some of their lowest numbers in decades. The U.S. Border Patrol states on its website that these numbers do not include individuals met at ports of entry looking to enter legally, but are determined to be inadmissible, or individuals seeking humanitarian protection under U.S. law.

U.S. Border Patrol took just over 400,000 people illegally entering the United States into custody in 2018, down from the second-high of 1.67 million in 2000.

View the complete January 10 article by Brittany Renee Mayes, Aaron Williams and Laris Karklis on The Washington Post website here.

House votes to reopen Treasury Dept., IRS

The Democratic-led House approved a bill Wednesday to reopen the Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service and Small Business Administration, among other federal agencies.

The chamber voted 240-188 to advance the measure, with eight Republicans bucking party lines to back the bill, which is the first of four bills expected to be brought to the floor by Democrats.

The Republicans who voted to advance the measure Wednesday included Reps. Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), Will Hurd (Texas), Fred Upton (Mich.), John Katko (N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Greg Walden (Ore.), Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) and Herrera Beutler (Wash.).

View the complete January 9 article by Juliegrade Brufke on The Hill website here.

Federal workers in Minnesota describe pain from missed paychecks


Sen. Tina Smith, left, listened to TSA employee Celia Hahn, now working without pay. Credit: Leila Navidi, Star Tribune

A handful of federal employees joined Sen. Tina Smith at a news conference at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith sought to put a human face Friday on the effects of the partial shutdown of the federal government.

Flanked by a handful of federal employees, Smith held a news conference at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to denounce the political stalemate in Washington that has prevented passage of a federal budget for 21 days, causing many workers to miss their first paycheck this week.

“This shutdown is wasteful, it is unnecessary, and it is increasingly harmful to so many people,” said Smith, a Democrat. She said she’s heard from “dozens and dozens” of people whose lives have been disrupted by the shutdown.

View the complete January 11 article by Dan Browning on The Star Tribune website here.

GOP senators challenge Trump on shutdown strategy

Several Senate Republicans on Wednesday challenged President Trump on his strategy for ending a 19-day shutdown during a closed-door meeting where they expressed specific concerns over the harm it is causing to federal workers and the economy.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who faces a tough reelection in a state Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won in 2016, said she asked Trump to consider a bipartisan compromise that would give certain immigrants, known as Dreamers, a path to citizenship in exchange for border security money.

“I suggested that we take a look at the package that we put together last February and brought to the floor as a possible compromise,” Collins said, recounting her conversation with Trump during a closed-door lunch meeting in the Capitol.

View the complete January 9 article by Alexander Bolton on The Hill website here.

IDEO: Trump ‘Doesn’t Care About All The People That Are Out Of Work’

Yesterday, federal workers did not receive their paychecks, and tomorrow, the Trump Shutdown will become the longest government shutdown in history. Watch the video below to see how Trump’s temper tantrum is devastating America.

WATCH HERE

John Berman: “21 days. 800,000 federal workers, they will not get a paycheck today.” Continue reading “IDEO: Trump ‘Doesn’t Care About All The People That Are Out Of Work’”