U.S. government shutdown drags into fourth week amid stalemate

[webfact]

U.S. government shutdown drags into fourth week amid stalemate

By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland

 

TSA worker Ebony Grays wipes away tears after receiving food at the Lakeview Pantry in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., January 14, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Lott

 

WASHINGTON/NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Monday rejected a Republican call for temporarily reopening shuttered U.S. government agencies in order to encourage negotiations with Democrats on border security issues, as a partial government shutdown limped through its 24th day.

 

About one-quarter of federal operations have been partially closed by a lack of funding since Dec. 22 after Trump demanded $5.7 billion this year from Congress for building a security wall on the southwest U.S. border.

 

At a speech to an American Farm Bureau convention in New Orleans, Trump again urged Congress to grant him the money, saying drones, sensors and other technology cannot do what a wall can do to stop illegal border crossings.

 

Farmers, a key bloc of Trump supporters, have been hit by the shutdown as federal loan and farm aid applications have stalled and key farming and crop data has been delayed.

 

"If you want to help farmers, re-open the government," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a Twitter posting.

 

The number of airport security screeners not showing up for work continued to rise since the start of the disruption. Most Transportation Security Administration workers were required to report to work but they are not being paid due to a lack of funds.

 

TSA spokesman Michael Bilello on Monday said TSA had a 7.6 percent unscheduled absence rate nationally, compared to a 3.2 percent rate a year ago.

 

Many security officers "are understandably looking for other work to make ends meet, House of Representatives Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, said in a statement.

 

Democrats, who control the House, have rejected Trump's $5.7 billion (4.4 billion pounds) demand, as have Senate Democrats who are needed to pass most legislation in the chamber even though Republicans hold a majority.

 

On Sunday, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham urged Trump to reopen the government for a short period of time in an effort to restart talks. It is an idea that Democrats have been promoting for weeks.

 

"That was a suggestion that Lindsey made but I did reject it," Trump told reporters as he left the White House for Louisiana. "I want to get it solved, I don't want to just delay it."

 

The partial shutdown is the longest in U.S. history and has seen Trump lurch from one idea to another in an attempt to secure money for building a wall that he argues is needed to secure the United States against illegal immigrants and drugs.

 

Democrats say there are cheaper, more effective ways of enhancing border security than constructing a wall that could cost well beyond $25 billion. They have offered $1.3 billion in new border security funds this year to help pay for a range of high-tech and other tools at the border.

 

When he ran for president, Trump said Mexico would pay for the wall but its government has refused. More recently, he has suggested that a renegotiated trade deal with Mexico could bring in the revenues needed to build the wall or that military funds and U.S. soldiers could be utilized.

 

Last week, the administration was looking into Trump declaring a "national emergency" and redirecting U.S. Army Corps of Engineers funds to the wall but he has said would not immediately take such action.

 

In December Trump said he would take responsibility for the shutdown but has since shifted the blame to Democrats. A growing proportion of Americans blame Trump for the closures, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

 

(Reporting by David Shepardson, Jeff Mason, Steve Holland, Doina Chiacu and Susan Heavey; Writing by Richard Cowan; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Bill Trott)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-01-15

[Cryingdick]

Looks like Trump has dug in for the long haul. Don't think the TSA not showing up is going to bother people in the "flyover" states as much as elsewhere. 

[Tug]

Donald doesent care he has lots bigger problems than wreacking 800;000 people’s lives (in his mind) that’s his own skin and his terror of fox and the rest of that crowd

[darksidedog]

Extremely sad state of affairs. To my mind, regardless of what you are trying to achieve, playing with the livelihoods of 800,000 people like this is essentially nothing more than blackmail. Any normal person should be able to see that this is completely the wrong way to get things done. For the supposed master negotiator, I chalk this up as a complete fail.

[Cryingdick]

11 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Extremely sad state of affairs. To my mind, regardless of what you are trying to achieve, playing with the livelihoods of 800,000 people like this is essentially nothing more than blackmail. Any normal person should be able to see that this is completely the wrong way to get things done. For the supposed master negotiator, I chalk this up as a complete fail.

 

Pelosi could make a compromise and reopen the government in 15 minutes. However the wall is immoral even though both her and chuck supported it in the past.

[dundas]

It's a wonderful distraction, used by a person who's a master of distraction. Fox News are overflowing with commentary about terrorists, criminals, democrats out of town and not working as they should, immigrants, government shutdown ... and very little about the Russian investigation or the negative consequences of the shutdown, or even some of the more alarming aspects of recent (John Bolton) US foreign policy. 

 

 

There are all kinds of consequences depending on where you are, but the innocent people getting hurt presumably mean nothing to Trump. 

 

He had two years when Republicans controlled both the Senate and Congress and did nothing. Now it's a national almost emergency, and it's the fault of the Democrats, even though he said he would be the responsible one. Yeah, right. 

 

 

[ThreeEyedRaven]

45 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Pelosi could make a compromise and reopen the government in 15 minutes. However the wall is immoral even though both her and chuck supported it in the past.

By doing so, it would allow Trump to subsequently put a gun against her head for every single bad policy he wishes to push through. Even if it were something the majority of the country wanted, which it absolutely is not, holding the pay packet of 800,000 workers hostage is an appalling thing to do. Pelosi is absolutely right in refusing to bow down to such tactics. It is a matter of principals, and the sad part about that is that you need to have some before you can understand the concept, which the current POTUS seems unable to do.

Edited January 15, 2019 by ThreeEyedRaven

[Thakkar]

1 hour ago, darksidedog said:

Extremely sad state of affairs. To my mind, regardless of what you are trying to achieve, playing with the livelihoods of 800,000 people like this is essentially nothing more than blackmail. Any normal person should be able to see that this is completely the wrong way to get things done. For the supposed master negotiator, I chalk this up as a complete fail.

And it’s not just 800,000 bacause each of those people have family members that are also affected, as well as the businesses that they would frequent and are now forced to curtail.

[utalkin2me]

1 hour ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Pelosi could make a compromise and reopen the government in 15 minutes. However the wall is immoral even though both her and chuck supported it in the past.

Cmon! He has even stated publicly he would "own the shutdown". 

 

This is his doing. He caused it, he prolongs it, he even seems to be proud of it based on his statements. The way he sees the world there are 800,000 workers out there thanking him for not getting paid because they all need a wall to be built to be safe from those dirty, evil, robbing and drug toting mexicans. 

[Boon Mee]

5 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Pelosi could make a compromise and reopen the government in 15 minutes. However the wall is immoral even though both her and chuck supported it in the past.

Absolutely but the Democrats visceral hatred of Trump over rides common sense and objectivity. 

[xylophone]

3 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

Absolutely but the Democrats visceral hatred of Trump over rides common sense and objectivity. 

But everything he does makes it so easy to hate this poor excuse for a human being.........he is the architect of this hatred against him.

[Proboscis]

5 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Pelosi could make a compromise and reopen the government in 15 minutes. However the wall is immoral even though both her and chuck supported it in the past.

Remember your recent history. Yes they did a deal in the past with Trump regarding the wall so as to advance border security and deal with the dreamers problem and then, having agreed it, Trump reneged on the deal.

 

The definition of madness is repeating the same action in the hope that the next time the result will be different.

[from the home of CC]

If I was an American I'd be as embarrassed as hell right now, how did they ever let it get so out of control?

[new2here]

1 hour ago, Boon Mee said:

Absolutely but the Democrats visceral hatred of Trump over rides common sense and objectivity. 

It really feels like that... it’s almost like a game whereby the winner must win BUT also the looser must loose.  It’s almost like I won’t win unless I’m sure you’ll loose.

 

i traditionally vote republican... but in the recent past, it’s been hard to hold the overall party line... that said, I don’t see the other “side” as being a whole remedy either.. it feels like I’m stuck between two far-less-than-ideal options.  

[DM07]

1 hour ago, xylophone said:

But everything he does makes it so easy to hate this poor excuse for a human being.........he is the architect of this hatred against him.

Don't feed the troll!

[rudi49jr]

1 hour ago, Boon Mee said:

Absolutely but the Democrats visceral hatred of Trump over rides common sense and objectivity. 

Let's play a game of Jeopardy, shall we? Common sense and objectivity: what are words that Donald Trump needs to look up in the dictionary to see what they mean?

Edited January 15, 2019 by rudi49jr

[Srinivas]

Just shows the nation functions just fine without a bloated bureaucracy.

US needs to trim some fat.

Small gov for essential services, low taxes.

[farcanell]

7 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Pelosi could make a compromise and reopen the government in 15 minutes. However the wall is immoral even though both her and chuck supported it in the past.

What?.... Pelosi has offered to make compromises.... however, trump won’t accept a compromise, deciding instead to blackmail the nation’s lawmakers into ceding to his full demands.

 

The potus is a pos for doing this to his peeps.... 

[attrayant]

7 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Pelosi could make a compromise and reopen the government in 15 minutes. However the wall is immoral even though both her and chuck supported it in the past.

 

She was expressly elected to NOT make such a compromise.

[Berkshire]

7 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Pelosi could make a compromise and reopen the government in 15 minutes. However the wall is immoral even though both her and chuck supported it in the past.

Pelosi has already submitted bills to reopen the government, but Trump won't sign them.  These bills have nothing to do with border security.  Trump wants to keep the government shutdown for no rational reason.  It's all on Trump and the majority of Americans know this.   

[Berkshire]

1 hour ago, Srinivas said:

Just shows the nation functions just fine without a bloated bureaucracy.

US needs to trim some fat.

Small gov for essential services, low taxes.

Geez man, get educated already.  This shutdown will cost taxpayers billions. 

[Thakkar]

16 hours ago, Srinivas said:

Just shows the nation functions just fine without a bloated bureaucracy.

US needs to trim some fat.

Small gov for essential services, low taxes.

Yeah, who need clean public toilets, amirite?

[bristolboy]

On 1/15/2019 at 3:37 PM, Srinivas said:

Just shows the nation functions just fine without a bloated bureaucracy.

US needs to trim some fat.

Small gov for essential services, low taxes.

The partial government shutdown is inflicting far greater damage on the United States economy than previously estimated, the White House acknowledged on Tuesday, as President Trump’s economists doubled projections of how much economic growth is being lost each week the standoff with Democrats continues.

The revised estimates from the Council of Economic Advisers show that the shutdown, now in its fourth week, is beginning to have real economic consequences. The analysis, and other projections from outside the White House, suggests that the shutdown has already weighed significantly on growth and could ultimately push the United States economy into a contraction.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/us/politics/government-shutdown-economy.html?action=click&module=Top Stories&pgtype=Homepage

[Srinivas]

Oh the sky is not falling. Trump will eventually put most of them back to work.

I say most because after 30 days or 22 work days of furlough it's possible he could use RIF procedures (reduction in force) to clean out some of the previous admin federal employees force thought to be actively sabotaging his policies.

you know the like of sally yates left over from previous admins, the people fighting the "russian agent" in the white house types.

I'm sure there will be an outcry but the courts can sort it out.

 

[Credo]

6 minutes ago, Srinivas said:

Oh the sky is not falling. Trump will eventually put most of them back to work.

I say most because after 30 days or 22 work days of furlough it's possible he could use RIF procedures (reduction in force) to clean out some of the previous admin federal employees force thought to be actively sabotaging his policies.

you know the like of sally yates left over from previous admins, the people fighting the "russian agent" in the white house types.

I'm sure there will be an outcry but the courts can sort it out.

 

So, he has a list of political enemies from each affected department?   He's going to target them?   These are by and large ordinary working people, not policy makers.   According to Trump they support him!

[Srinivas]

22 minutes ago, Credo said:

So, he has a list of political enemies from each affected department?   He's going to target them?   These are by and large ordinary working people, not policy makers.   According to Trump they support him!

Well Im saying it's a possibility with shutdown furloughs. There are people that work against new administrations like in doj by draggin their feet to process requests for documents etc.

 

Fed employees are difficult to fire but procedures for long furloughs allow for select people to be called back to work, while some may be let go. Usually under budget reasons so im not sure about current situation. its called RIF procedure.

 

 

[Cryingdick]

1 hour ago, Srinivas said:

Oh the sky is not falling. Trump will eventually put most of them back to work.

I say most because after 30 days or 22 work days of furlough it's possible he could use RIF procedures (reduction in force) to clean out some of the previous admin federal employees force thought to be actively sabotaging his policies.

you know the like of sally yates left over from previous admins, the people fighting the "russian agent" in the white house types.

I'm sure there will be an outcry but the courts can sort it out.

 

 

He was looking for 5% savings across the board at one point. I am sure that with the 29 year old socialist former bar tender that couldn't afford the rent to move to DC being appointed to the finance committee that AOC will be able to just tax the rich anyway. 

 

Funny Pelosi wants Trump to cancel the State of The Union address because of security concerns. As if you can just willy nilly throw up some walls or barriers and keep people safe. I heard that people are setting up ladder shops near the capitol just for this event.

 

 

Edited January 16, 2019 by Cryingdick

[papa al]

25 days shut down now.

While gems are yackin bout the wall...

At day 30,

automatic reduction in force

RIFs take affect.

Da da da dat's the law folks

For all bloated government agencies.

(Trumps plan)

be draining the swamp on many levels folks.

'19 will be a year to remember.

????

[Scott]

Off-topic post removed.  

[mtls2005]

On the plus side, no one will want to come to the U.S.