Tag: #TrumpShutDown

President Trump’s nonsensical claim that Mexico is paying for the wall

More than 200 times Trump promised Mexico would pay for the wall. Now he falsely says he’s keeping his promise with the revised trade agreement with Mexico. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

“I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively, I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall.”

— Donald Trump, in his presidential announcement speech, June 16, 2015

“What we save on the USMCA — the new trade deal we have with Mexico and Canada — what we save on that, just with Mexico, will pay for the wall many times over just in a period of a year, two years and three years. … So I view that as, absolutely, Mexico is paying for the wall.”

— Trump, remarks during a news conference, Jan. 4, 2019

Just about every president has made a campaign promise that, once elected, he discovers he cannot fulfill. Continue reading “President Trump’s nonsensical claim that Mexico is paying for the wall”

Federal courts set to run out of money Friday because of government shutdown

Chief U.S. District Judge John Tunheim , seen in his office. Credit: Dvid Joles, Star Tribune

In Minnesota, the chief judge is set to deem all 223 staff members essential.

The federal courts are set to run out of cash on Friday, likely meaning nonessential workers at the 94 federal district courts, and at higher courts across the country, may have to stay home even as skeleton crews show up — without pay — to handle matters deemed essential under U.S. law, including many criminal cases.

And companies that turn to the federal courts to resolve fights with rivals and customers may find themselves in limbo if the government shutdown continues beyond this week.

The system has enough money left over from fees and other sources to run through Friday, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, which supports the judiciary. Individual courts and judges will then decide how to fulfill those critical functions, said courts spokesman David Sellers. He pointed to earlier shutdowns, the longest of which was the 21-day furlough that started in December 1995 and ended in January 1996. A shutdown beyond Friday would break that record.

View the complete January 8 article by Erik Larson of Bloomberg News on The Star Tribune website here.

As Government Shutdown Persists, Americans Feel the Bite

Members of the Secret Service on Monday outside the White House. Virtually every employee with the agency is required to work during the shutdown. Credit: Doug Mills, The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The impact of a partial government shutdown began to ripple across the economy as it stretched into Day 17, with mortgage applications delayed, public companies unable to get approval to raise capital and thousands of Secret Service agents expected to show up for work without pay.

President Trump and congressional Democrats have made little progress in negotiations to end a shutdown that has affected about 800,000 federal workers, many of whom will miss their first paycheck this week, and who owe a combined $249 million in monthly mortgage payments, according to the online real estate firm Zillow.

The shutdown shows no sign of ending soon, with Mr. Trump announcing Monday that he would address the nation on Tuesday evening from the Oval Office to discuss what he called the crisis at the southern border, and the White House saying that he would travel to the border this week as part of his effort to persuade Americans of the need for a wall — the sticking point in negotiations with Democrats.

View the complete January 7 article by Jim Tankersley, Matthew Goldstein and Glenn Thrush on The Washington Post website here.

Workers Call On Trump To End His Shutdown

Hundreds of thousands of workers will miss their next paycheck because of the Trump Shutdown. Now, they are speaking out and calling on Trump to end his shutdown.

Hundreds of federal workers gathered at the White House today to demand an end to the Trump Shutdown.

Washington Post: “Hundreds of furloughed federal workers, contractors, union representatives and supporters gathered in the brisk wind and bitter cold Thursday to demand government leaders ‘end this shutdown.’  Leaders of the National Federation of Federal Employees said they hoped that bringing federal workers to the president’s doorstep would show him whom the shutdown has hurt most.”

The FBI Agents Association called on Trump and Republicans to pass funding bills to reopen the Department of Justice.

Vox: “The union for FBI agents is out today with a new letter urging Congress to pass a funding bill to reopen the Department of Justice so that its members can get paid… Instead, they come down in line with the view of Democratic leaders (and some Republican senators): The important thing is to reopen the government — ‘the important work done by the Bureau needs to be funded immediately,’ they write — and allow any negotiations over other issues to proceed on a separate track.” Continue reading “Workers Call On Trump To End His Shutdown”

White House rules IRS can issue tax refunds during shutdown, aims to bring back agency employees

The White House on Monday directed the Internal Revenue Service to pay tax refunds to millions of Americans during the federal shutdown, marking its most dramatic reversal yet of past legal precedent as officials scramble to contain public backlash from the funding lapse.

Last year, and during previous administrations, the IRS said it would not pay tax refunds during a government shutdown. But Trump administration lawyers ruled Monday that the refunds could be processed after all, a move that some Democrats called legally dubious.

The decision could prove extremely consequential for U.S. households and the U.S. economy. Last year, between Jan. 29 and March 2, the IRS paid more than $147 billion in tax refunds to 48.5 million households.

View the complete January 7 article by Damian Paletta, Jeff Stein and Juliet Eilperin on The Washington Post website here.

How the government shutdown is making the U.S. immigration system even worse

Protesters rally against the separation of immigrant families in front of a U.S. federal court. Credit: John Moore, Getty Images

“The irony is not lost on us that immigration court is shut down over immigration.”

Over two weeks into the partial federal government shutdown and with no end in sight, the fight over $5 billion for a border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border wall has put the federal immigration system at standstill.

While cases for immigrants in government custody are proceeding, immigration courts are not holding hearings for non-detained immigrants during the shutdown, meaning immigrants re-authorizing work visas, applying for permanent residency, or contesting government charges on deportability are in a precarious situation.

Missing even a single day of hearings could add hundreds to the current backlog of 800,000 cases — over a million if you include the ones the U.S. Attorney General wants on the docket.

View the complete January 7 article by Rebekah Entralgo on the ThinkProgress.org website here.

How shutdown will sting across the board

Within days of the government shutdown setting a record,  federal agencies, employees and the general public will begin to feel the pain, says CQ budget and appropriations reporter Kellie Mejdrich. She also gives the latest developments in what is turning out to be a prolonged political battle.

View the January 7 post by David Lerman on The Roll Call website here.

DAY 20: Trump Shutdown Hurts Our Veterans, Anyone Who Eats Food

As the Trump Shutdown enters its 20th day, the impacts just keep getting worse. The shutdown doesn’t just hurt hundreds of thousands of federal workers. In fact, anyone who eats food is now at risk. Here’s the latest:

The Trump Shutdown disproportionately hurts our nation’s veterans.

ABC News: “As the partial government shutdown continues for a third week, veterans groups are sounding the alarm because of what they say is the disproportionate impact on America’s veterans and a growing fear that financial uncertainty could lead to self-harm.”

ABC News: “An estimated one-third of the federal workforce is made up of veterans, according to the Office of Personnel Management, meaning that more than 250,000 veterans are not currently receiving paychecks.” Continue reading “DAY 20: Trump Shutdown Hurts Our Veterans, Anyone Who Eats Food”

DNC on Trump’s Border Visit

DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement ahead of President Trump’s visit to the southern U.S. border:

“Trump himself admitted this is nothing more than a useless publicity stunt. Yesterday, Democrats called on Trump once again to end his disastrous government shutdown. But instead of doing the right thing for the American people, Trump ended negotiations and threw a temper tantrum that would be embarrassing even for a kindergartner, let alone the president of the United States.

“This isn’t leadership; it’s chaos. 800,000 workers remain furloughed or working without pay, including many who actually protect our security every day, and Americans from small business owners to small-town home loan seekers are suffering. The American people are demanding an end to the Trump Shutdown. The House has already passed bipartisan legislation to end the Trump Shutdown, and Democrats are ready to pass legislation to fund common-sense, effective border security. The president should cancel his publicity stunt, stay in Washington, and end the shutdown crisis he created.”

Who’s Going To Pay For The Wall? Mexic — Oh??

Trump shut down the government to force taxpayers to fund an ineffective border wall that he promised Mexico would pay for. As Americans increasingly put the blame on Trump for the shutdown, his lies about paying for the border wall are unraveling.

Trump shut down the government to force taxpayers to fund his border wall after promising over 200 times that Mexico would pay for it.

Washington Post: “From his announcement speech to the election, he declared 212 times that Mexico would pay for the wall, according to the comprehensive record of Trump’s speeches, interviews and tweets maintained by factba.se. That works out to almost every two days during the campaign. Mexico refuses to pay for the wall, and Trump has engineered a government shutdown to try to force Congress to appropriate the necessary funds.”

Trump falsely claimed that he never said “Mexico would write a check” for the border wall, when he wrote a campaign memo promising to force Mexico to make a $5-10 billion “one-time payment.”

Trump: “When, during the campaign, I would say Mexico is going to pay for it, obviously I never said this and I never meant they are going to write out a check.” Continue reading “Who’s Going To Pay For The Wall? Mexic — Oh??”