After shutting down the government for 35 days, and then caving to demands he reopen it, Trump is threatening to do it again to get his unpopular, unnecessary, and ineffective border wall.
NBC News: “President Trump issued a threat of another government shutdown if there isn’t a ‘fair deal’ from Congress on a border wall.”
Washington Post: “Renewing his threats, the president insisted Congress must give him wall funding or risk another government shutdown in three weeks — or a declaration of a national emergency that would allow him to circumvent Congress and use the military to build the wall.”
In an interview yesterday, Trump is already doubting that he would sign a deal from Congress, refused to budge from his wall-funding demand, and said another shutdown was “certainly an option.”
Wall Street Journal: “Trump Skeptical He Would Accept Any Congressional Border Deal”
Wall Street Journal: “In the interview, Mr. Trump said he wouldn’t rule out another shutdown, calling it ‘certainly an option.’”
Wall Street Journal: “Asked if he would accept less than $5.7 billion in the next round of negotiations, Mr. Trump said: ‘I doubt it.’”
Trump’s chief of staff said that Trump is prepared to shut down the government again.
Associated Press: “Is Trump prepared to shut down the government again in three weeks? ‘Yeah, I think he actually is,’ acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said.”
Meanwhile, workers have still not recovered from the Trump Shutdown, and many federal contractors may never get reimbursed for lost wages.
Washington Post: “‘It feels like we are still hostages’: Federal contractors who lost health insurance during shutdown remain in limbo”
Washington Post: “With the shutdown now over, Morgan, 62, is reporting back to her job Monday as an administrative planner for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. But the mile marker of reopening federal offices belies the continued suffering and long-term financial damage on the legions of federal contractors whose lost wages may never be reimbursed.”
Trump’s chief of staff couldn’t say when, or whether, millions of federal workers and contractors would receive their lost pay from the Trump Shutdown.
Huffington Post: “‘What about all of those contractors who don’t necessarily have job guarantees?’ Brennan asked Mulvaney. ‘Are they going to be made full?’ But Mulvaney breezed past the plight of contractors in his response, noting that the roughly 800,000 federal employees stung by the shutdown would likely receive retroactive pay in the coming days. ‘Uh, the contractors will depend on the contract and, um, let’s talk about the (government) employees for a second because I know a little bit more about that,’ Muvlaney said. ‘Some of them could be early this week,’ he said of back pay for federal employees. ‘Some of them may be later this week.’”
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the 35-day government shutdown cost the U.S. economy $11 billion, with $3 billion permanently lost.
CNBC: “The federal government shutdown cost the economy $11 billion, according to a new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Although most of the damage to the economy will be reversed as the government re-opens and workers return to their jobs, the CBO estimated $3 billion in economic activity is permanently lost.”