Tag: #TrumpShutDown

GOP seeks to change narrative in shutdown fight

President Trump and congressional Republicans are trying to change the narrative on Democrats as the partial shutdown drags into its fifth week.

Republicans, who have seen poll after poll showing that a majority of respondents blame Trump for the shutdown, are eager to corner Democrats by forcing a vote on the White House proposal to reopen the government and provide Trump with $5.7 billion in wall funding.

Whether the gambit works is anyone’s guess.

View the complete January 22 article by Jordain Carney on The Hill website here.

Senate to vote on dueling government funding bills

Senate leadership on Tuesday struck an agreement to vote on dueling proposals to reopen the federal government.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) set up two votes for Thursday afternoon, both of which will require 60 votes to advance.

The first vote will be on President Trump‘s proposal to reopen the government, provide $5.7 billion in funding for the border wall and extend legal protections to some immigrants for three years. If that fails, the Senate would then vote on a three-week continuing resolution (CR) to fund a quarter of the government through Feb. 8.

View the complete January 22 article by Jordain Carney on The Hill article here.

Has the shutdown changed Trump’s political standing?

Credit: Jim Watson, AFP, Getty Images

The president’s political base seems to be staying put, but the danger for him is outside that realm

ANALYSIS — Even Donald Trump knows he is in a disturbingly deep political hole.

That’s why he went on television Saturday to offer his version of a “compromise” to Democrats. He is trying to blame House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her party for the partial government shutdown and to paint them as intransigent and extreme.

But after decades in the public spotlight — and two years in the White House — the president has his own well-earned reputation. Americans either love him or hate him.

View the complete January 22 article by Stuart Rothenberg on The Roll Call website here.

Senate GOP unveils omnibus bill to fund wall, reopen government

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence arrive to the Capitol to attend the Senate Republican policy luncheons on January 9, 2019. Credit: Tom Williams, CQ Roll Call)

The 1,301-page draft bill includes parts outlined by Trump in his Saturday speech

Senate Republicans have released a $354.5 billion fiscal 2019 spending package that includes $5.7 billion for border wall construction as well as temporary relief for enrollees in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and immigrants receiving Temporary Protected Status.

The 1,301-page draft bill was released Monday night, and it includes parts outlined by President Donald Trump in his Saturday speech. It is expected to receive a vote in the Senate this week.

Democrats have already rejected the proposal, on grounds that the president should first sign stopgap funding to reopen the nine Cabinet departments that have been closed for the past month. They also oppose the three-year extensions of legal status for the roughly 1 million DACA and TPS recipients, which they argue ought to be permanent.

View the complete January 22 article by Jennifer Shutt on The Roll Call website here.

NEW POLL: Americans Want Trump To Reopen Government Without Border Wall Funding

A new poll released today shows that a vast majority of Americans oppose the Trump Shutdown and want Trump to support the Democrats’ proposal to reopen the government without border wall funding. As the Trump Shutdown enters its 33rd day, it’s clear why Trump’s approval rating has now dropped to an all-time low.

Trump’s approval rating hit an all-time low – and that’s saying something.

  • 59% of Americans disapprove of the job he is doing.

  • Only 36% approve — down 3 points since November.

A VAST majority of Americans oppose the Trump Shutdown.

  • 71% of Americans don’t think Trump’s border wall is worth a government shutdown.

  • One in five Americans reported the government shutdown personally affected them because of the pause in services and programs.

  • By more than a 2-to-1 margin, Americans want Trump to agree to a budget without funding for his border wall.

Trump Voters On His Shutdown: ‘What The [Expletive] Were We Thinking?’

Trump is losing support with his own voters over his government shutdown. Trump’s voters think the Trump Shutdown is “ridiculous.” They are “sick” of his border wall. And they now regret voting for Trump, asking “What the [expletive] were we thinking?”

Here’s what Trump voters had to say about his shutdown:

“What the [expletive] were we thinking?” – Trump voter

“It’s silly. It’s destructive.” – Trump voter Continue reading “Trump Voters On His Shutdown: ‘What The [Expletive] Were We Thinking?’”

DAY 32: FBI Agents Warn The Trump Shutdown Is Hurting Their Ability To Protect Us

On the 32nd day of the Trump Shutdown, FBI agents have warned that the shutdown is hampering their ability to “protect the people of our country from criminals and terrorists.” Here’s that and more:

The FBI Agents Association warned Trump that his ongoing shutdown is hurting FBI agents and their ability to protect Americans.

CBS News: “The FBI Agents Association warned Tuesday that the ongoing government shutdown is not only hurting individual FBI employees and their families, but hampering key operations. Some of those affected operations, according to a series of statements the association released Tuesday, include efforts to thwart the same criminal enterprises President Trump claims the shutdown is meant to defeat in the long run. ‘The failure to fund the FBI is making it more difficult for us to do our jobs, to protect the people of our country from criminals and terrorists,’ FBIAA President Tom O’Connor told reporters in a conference call Tuesday.”

More than 13,000 FBI agents are on track to lose their health benefits for the rest of the year because of the Trump Shutdown.

WUSA9: “January 25 will add another pressure point to end the perilous and poisonous government shutdown, when thousands of FBI agents are on track to lose health benefits for the rest of the year. Agents learned Thursday their supplemental health insurance, specifically vision and dental, will lapse if the shutdown extends past two pay periods.” Continue reading “DAY 32: FBI Agents Warn The Trump Shutdown Is Hurting Their Ability To Protect Us”

Senate Republicans all but surrender to Trump on wall despite shutdown’s toll

Members of Congress discussed ways to break the funding impasse on Jan. 20, the 30th day of a partial government shutdown. (Patrick Martin /The Washington Post)

One month into a historic government shutdown, Republican senators are standing staunchly behind President Trump’s demand for money to build a border wall, even as the GOP bears the brunt of the blame for a standoff few in the party agitated for, according to interviews this past week with more than 40 Republican senators and aides.

Under pressure from conservatives to help Trump deliver on a signature campaign promise and unable to persuade him to avert the partial government shutdown, these lawmakers have all but surrendered to the president’s will. Their comments show how the cracks in the 53-member Republican majority that emerged at the outset of the shutdown have not spread beyond a handful of lawmakers.

Asked about the pressure from constituents and some of the 800,000 affected federal workers to end the impasse, GOP senators insisted they are facing equal — if not more — insistence to stand behind Trump and his call for $5.7 billion for a U.S.-Mexico border wall, especially from conservative voters.

View the complete January 21 article by Seung Min Kim and Sean Sullivan on The Washington Post website here.

Number of TSA checkpoint agents calling out during shutdown stresses major airports

A Transportation Security Administration agent screens passengers at a security checkpoint at the Atlanta airport, one of the airports struggling with staffing problems. Credit: Elijah Nouvelage, Reuters

The number of airport security workers failing to show up for work hit an all-time high over the weekend, straining checkpoint lanes at several major hub airports.

The number of unscheduled absences was 8 percent nationally, compared with 3 percent a year ago, as the Transportation Security Administration conceded that many of its workers could no longer handle the financial hardship of working without pay during the government shutdown.

The agency said the stress was being felt at checkpoint lanes in New York, Atlanta, Chicago and Miami.

View the complete January 20 article by Ashley Halsey II and Michael Laris on The Washington Post website here.

The Memo: Concern over shutdown grows in Trump World

Allies of President Trump are growing increasingly concerned about the political impact of the partial government shutdown, which has now entered its fifth week.

Trump evinces confidence that he will prevail in the battle to secure funding for the southern border wall he promised at almost every opportunity during his 2016 campaign.

But even some veterans of his own White House aren’t sure he fully grasps the odds he faces.

View the complete article January 19 article by Niall Stanage on The Hill website here.