How Washington Reached the Brink of a Shutdown
Here’s a look back, over the course of one year, at the events that led to the brink of a government shutdown, with immigration and spending as the main drivers.
Jan. 20, 2017
President Trump tells Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, at the Inauguration luncheon on Capitol Hill not to worry about the Dreamers, young, undocumented immigrants who were brought illegally to the United States as children. “We’re going to take care of those kids,” Mr. Trump said.
Spring of 2017
Jared Kushner holds weeks of private meetings and phone conversations with Mr. Durbin about the Obama-era program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which shielded young immigrants from deportation and offered them a chance to work, study or serve in the military. The meetings culminated in a dinner at Mr. Kushner’s house with Mr. Durbin and Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, and Stephen Miller, the president’s hard-line domestic policy adviser. The talks go nowhere.
Sept. 5, 2017
The president officially ends the DACA program. Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, says the program “denied jobs to hundreds of thousands of Americans by allowing those same illegal aliens to take those jobs.” Mr. Trump calls on Congress to act.
Sept. 6, 2017
Mr. Trump strikes bipartisan deal to increase the debt limit and keep the government open until mid-December and tells Democrats that he wants to do something to help the Dreamers. “Chuck and Nancy would like to see something happen, and so do I,” the president said.
Sept. 13, 2017
The president has dinner with “Chuck and Nancy” in the Blue Room of the White House and discussed a possible deal in which Congress would legalize Dreamers in exchange for border security. The two Democrats left the dinner and declared they had reached “a deal” with the president.
Sept. 14, 2017
Conservatives recoil at the idea of Mr. Trump embracing what they call amnesty for lawbreakers. The White House says that no deal was reached. Trump tweets: “No deal was made last night on DACA. Massive border security would have to be agreed to in exchange for consent” and says that would include “the wall.”
Oct. 1, 2017
New fiscal year begins without Congress passing any of the 12 appropriations bills necessary to fund the government. The government is now operating on stopgap spending bills that maintain spending at the previous year’s levels. Funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program is allowed to lapse.
Oct. 8, 2017
The White House delivers to Congress a long list of immigration demands — many of which have been opposed by Democrats for decades — that would have to be met before Mr. Trump would support legislation making the Dreamers legal. Democrats denounce the “immigration priorities,” saying they are designed to kill any legislation.
Dec. 7, 2017
Democrats agree to a two-week, stopgap spending measure that does not include legislation to legalize Dreamers, giving lawmakers more time to try to work out a bipartisan compromise on the immigration issue.
Dec. 20, 2017
Democrats and Republicans agree to another stopgap spending measure without DACA legislation, after securing a promise from Republican leaders to consider the immigration legislation if a bipartisan compromise is reached after the first of the year. Some Democrats are angry, saying they should have held out on behalf of the Dreamers.
Jan. 9, 2018
In an extraordinary, hourlong meeting in the White House Cabinet Room that was played in full on television, Mr. Trump discusses immigration and DACA with lawmakers from both parties and appears to embrace the idea of a path to citizenship for all illegal immigrants. He also narrows the parameters of a DACA deal. “My head is spinning,” Mr. Durbin says after the meeting.
Photo
Jan. 11, 2018
A bipartisan group of senators announce they have reached a deal on immigration legislation that would legalize Dreamers, add to border security, end the diversity visa lottery, and address temporary protected status for Haitians and others in the United States because of disasters. “We have been working for four months and have reached an agreement in principle,” a statement from the senators said.
Jan. 11, 2018
Later, in an Oval Office meeting with Mr. Durbin and Mr. Graham to discuss their compromise legislation, Mr. Trump grows angry and derides African nations as “shithole countries” and disparages Haiti. Conservative lawmakers in the meeting insist he did not use the vulgarity, but Mr. Durbin publicly says that he did. The president eventually denies it.
Jan. 18, 2018
House passes one-month, stopgap spending measure without addressing DACA. Senate Democrats unite around demands that any spending bill must protect the Dreamers, expand federal intervention in the opioid crisis, assist hurricane-battered Puerto Rico, and include an agreement on a longer-term budget deal that raises strict spending caps on military and nonmilitary spending.
How we got to Trump's Shutdown
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How we got to Trump's Shutdown
Last edited by YahooSeeker [Bot] on Sat Jan 20, 2018 8:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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_Kevin Graham
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Re: How we got to this Shutdown
Trump’s border wall obsession is going to shut down the government
President Trump’s zigzagging on immigration reform as the country careens toward a Friday night government shutdown deadline has Congress frustrated.
The Senate has until midnight to pass a temporary spending bill to keep the government operating through mid-February, but Democrats are withholding support unless Republicans agree to vote on an immigration bill with protections for immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
A group of bipartisan senators have a bill they thought the president would back based on his comments last week. But after the infamous “shithole” meeting, no one can pin the White House down on immigration reform, making the possibility of a shutdown imminent.
“Their demands are nebulous, their messaging makes no sense, they continuously move the ball,” said David Bier, a policy analyst at the conservative CATO institute. “I think it’s a sign that the administration doesn’t want a deal.”
Last Tuesday, Trump zigged, saying he would like to do a clean immigration bill that provides protections for immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Then on Thursday, Trump zagged during a meeting about bipartisan immigration reform legislation with Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Dick Durbin (D-IL): “Why are we having all these people from s---hole countries come here?” he asked.
This week Trump doubled down on his disapproval for the Graham-Durbin immigration plan, calling it “horrible” and “very, very weak.”
One reason for the whiplash could be a memo that White House staff gave to the president before last Thursday’s meeting. The memo, obtained and reviewed by Axios, lists five objections to the bill: it fails to secure the border, increases illegal immigration, grants legal status to parents of “Dreamers,” increases chain migration and fails to end the visa lottery.
In fact, the bill includes $2.7 billion for border security, prohibits citizenship for parents of “Dreamers”, limits the number of family members a U.S. resident can sponsor, and terminates the diversity visa lottery program, allocating those visas for a merit-based system.
“The idea that they gave the president everything that he asked for, these are dramatic things that are going to have a permanent effect on our immigration system,” said Kamal Essaheb, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the National Immigration Law Center. “For the president to just scoff at that and say that’s weak, it’s just beyond words.”
Mick Mulvaney, the head of the Office of Management and Budget, defended Trump’s efforts on immigration in a press conference Friday. “There's no way you can lay this at the feet of the president of the U.S,” he said. “He's actively working to try to get a deal."
Trump invited Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York to the White House Friday afternoon to work out a deal, but this bipartisan immigration bill is already as far to the right as Democrats are likely willing to go.
“I think he’s getting some really bad advice,” Bier said. “It’s a negotiation at this point over things that are so far from the realm of consideration on the Democratic side that you’re never going to get a deal as long as the president continues to listen to this advice.”
President Trump’s zigzagging on immigration reform as the country careens toward a Friday night government shutdown deadline has Congress frustrated.
The Senate has until midnight to pass a temporary spending bill to keep the government operating through mid-February, but Democrats are withholding support unless Republicans agree to vote on an immigration bill with protections for immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
A group of bipartisan senators have a bill they thought the president would back based on his comments last week. But after the infamous “shithole” meeting, no one can pin the White House down on immigration reform, making the possibility of a shutdown imminent.
“Their demands are nebulous, their messaging makes no sense, they continuously move the ball,” said David Bier, a policy analyst at the conservative CATO institute. “I think it’s a sign that the administration doesn’t want a deal.”
Last Tuesday, Trump zigged, saying he would like to do a clean immigration bill that provides protections for immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Then on Thursday, Trump zagged during a meeting about bipartisan immigration reform legislation with Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Dick Durbin (D-IL): “Why are we having all these people from s---hole countries come here?” he asked.
This week Trump doubled down on his disapproval for the Graham-Durbin immigration plan, calling it “horrible” and “very, very weak.”
One reason for the whiplash could be a memo that White House staff gave to the president before last Thursday’s meeting. The memo, obtained and reviewed by Axios, lists five objections to the bill: it fails to secure the border, increases illegal immigration, grants legal status to parents of “Dreamers,” increases chain migration and fails to end the visa lottery.
In fact, the bill includes $2.7 billion for border security, prohibits citizenship for parents of “Dreamers”, limits the number of family members a U.S. resident can sponsor, and terminates the diversity visa lottery program, allocating those visas for a merit-based system.
“The idea that they gave the president everything that he asked for, these are dramatic things that are going to have a permanent effect on our immigration system,” said Kamal Essaheb, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the National Immigration Law Center. “For the president to just scoff at that and say that’s weak, it’s just beyond words.”
Mick Mulvaney, the head of the Office of Management and Budget, defended Trump’s efforts on immigration in a press conference Friday. “There's no way you can lay this at the feet of the president of the U.S,” he said. “He's actively working to try to get a deal."
Trump invited Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York to the White House Friday afternoon to work out a deal, but this bipartisan immigration bill is already as far to the right as Democrats are likely willing to go.
“I think he’s getting some really bad advice,” Bier said. “It’s a negotiation at this point over things that are so far from the realm of consideration on the Democratic side that you’re never going to get a deal as long as the president continues to listen to this advice.”
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_Kevin Graham
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Re: How we got to Trump's Shutdown
GOP strategist: Shutdown is on Trump and GOP
Republican strategist John Weaver said Saturday that blame for the government shutdown falls on President Trump and the GOP.
“Trump created the [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program] crisis. The congressional wing of the GOP refused to fund CHIP. Trump & GOP ignored the pleas of the Pentagon for a fully funded budget. All of this is on them,” Weaver said.
The strategist, who previously worked for Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) and Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) 2008 presidential campaign, has often been critical of Trump.
The government shut down at midnight on Friday after the Senate failed to pass a continuing resolution to fund it. Democrats and Republicans are scrambling to place blame on the other side for the failure.
Trump and Republicans have blamed Democrats for the shutdown. But Democrats fired back, saying it was the GOP’s fault for refusing to attach a measure extending protections for recipients of the DACA program to the bill.
The hashtag #TrumpShutdown was the top trending topic worldwide Friday night.
Trump blamed Democrats for the government shutdown in a series of tweets Saturday morning.
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Fox News host Shep Smith on the shutdown news: Trump and Republicans can't blame Democrats
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) blames shutdown on Trump listening to Tom Cotton, Stephen Miller
Republican strategist John Weaver said Saturday that blame for the government shutdown falls on President Trump and the GOP.
“Trump created the [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program] crisis. The congressional wing of the GOP refused to fund CHIP. Trump & GOP ignored the pleas of the Pentagon for a fully funded budget. All of this is on them,” Weaver said.
John Weaver
@JWGOP
Trump created the DACA crisis. The congressional wing of the GOP refused to fund CHIP. Trump & GOP ignored the pleas of the Pentagon for a fully funded budget. All of this is on them.
7:58 AM - Jan 20, 2018
The strategist, who previously worked for Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) and Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) 2008 presidential campaign, has often been critical of Trump.
The government shut down at midnight on Friday after the Senate failed to pass a continuing resolution to fund it. Democrats and Republicans are scrambling to place blame on the other side for the failure.
Trump and Republicans have blamed Democrats for the shutdown. But Democrats fired back, saying it was the GOP’s fault for refusing to attach a measure extending protections for recipients of the DACA program to the bill.
The hashtag #TrumpShutdown was the top trending topic worldwide Friday night.
Trump blamed Democrats for the government shutdown in a series of tweets Saturday morning.
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Fox News host Shep Smith on the shutdown news: Trump and Republicans can't blame Democrats
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) blames shutdown on Trump listening to Tom Cotton, Stephen Miller