Shutdown looms, Trump weighs next ‘wall’ move
‘Do what’s right Dems’
WASHINGTON, Dec 15, (AP): Congress is racing to avoid a partial government shutdown next Friday over President Donald Trump’s border wall. But you wouldn’t know it by the schedule, as lawmakers left town waiting for the White House’s next move.
The House is taking an extended five-day weekend, returning Wednesday night. The Senate returns Monday after a three-day absence.
The ball is in Trump’s court, both sides say, and the president met Friday with top aides to discuss his spending strategy. There’s an expectation on Capitol Hill he’ll reach out soon to offer lawmakers a plan.
The president said this week he’d be “proud” to shut down the government over the $5 billion he wants for the wall on the southern border, but he has since taken a softer tone, tweeting, “Let’s not do a shutdown, Democrats - do what’s right for the American People!” But Trump doesn’t have the votes from the Republican-controlled Congress to support funding for the wall at the level he wants.
Democratic congressional leaders, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, made a counter offer during a contentious meeting at the White House of no more than $1.6 billion, as outlined in a bipartisan Senate bill. The money would not go for the wall but for fencing upgrades and other border security. Democrats also offered to simply keep funding at its current level, $1.3 billion.
Without a resolution, parts of the federal government would shut down at midnight Dec 21.
Trump met on Friday with legislative affairs director Shahira Knight and budget director Mick Mulvaney to discuss strategy. Some White House aides were startled by Trump’s embrace of a shutdown during his meeting with Democratic leaders, though others argued that it was another example of Trump sticking with his campaign promises.
While Trump has long rallied for the border wall with Mexico, a centerpiece of his 2016 campaign, Republicans on Capitol Hill never fully warmed to the plan, and they are less likely now to round up the votes for it after losing the House majority in the November election.
Each passing day brings Democrats closer to taking control of the House, and with Christmas approaching, enthusiasm for a prolonged fight over the wall was waning even among some Republicans who support it.
“We’re out of time,” said Rep. Jeff Denham, RCalif., who lost a bid for re-election last month.
Denham backs the wall as part of a broader immigration overhaul, but said Republicans would be better served by approving a short-term budget resolution that postpones the wall fight until January while keeping the government open.
Democrats, meanwhile, are not inclined to give an inch, as seen by the backing Pelosi received after confronting Trump during their televised meeting in the Oval Office. She’s poised to become House speaker when the new Congress convenes Jan 3.
As of Friday, Trump had neither accepted nor rejected the Democrats’ proposal, according to the Democrats. He told them he would take a look. Trump will need Democratic votes either way, now or in the new year, for passage.
The mood on Capitol Hill has quickly shifted as newly elected members arrive to set up offices on Capitol Hill and dozens of Republicans head for the exits. Outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan’s pre-election prediction of a “big fight” over the wall has run up against the reality of the changed circumstances.
Thursday was supposed to be the House’s final day in session for the year, but lawmakers instead were told to return
Trump
Death of girl raises questions:
Just 7 years old, Jakelin Amei Rosmery Caal Maquin was picked up by US authorities with her father and other migrants this month in a remote stretch of New Mexico desert. Some seven hours later, she was put on a bus to the nearest Border Patrol station but soon began vomiting. By the end of the two-hour drive, she had stopped breathing.
Jakelin hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for days, her father later told US officials.
The death of the Guatemalan girl is the latest demonstration of the desperation of a growing number of Central American families and children showing up at the US-Mexico border, often hoping to claim asylum, and it raises new questions about how well authorities are prepared.
Customs and Border Protection said Friday that the girl initially appeared healthy and that an interview raised no signs of trouble. Authorities said her father spoke in Spanish to Border agents and signed a form indicating she was in good health, though a Guatemalan official said late Friday that the family’s native language was a Mayan dialect.
CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said agents “did everything in their power” to save her.
The episode drew immediate questions from members of Congress and others about whether more could have been done. There were only four agents working with a group of 163 migrants, including 50 unaccompanied children, and only one bus to take them to the nearest station 94 miles away. The protocols the agents followed failed to alert them to any signs of distress until it was too late.
“A 7-year-old girl should not be dying of dehydration and shock in Customs and Border Protection custody,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tweeted.
The Rev John L. McCullough, president of Church World Service, said her death was a result of “the administration’s immoral war on immigrants.” He declared, “People don’t walk thousands of miles unless they are desperate for freedom at the end of their journey.”
The Homeland Security Department’s inspector general opened an investigation, and congressional leaders promised one as well.
The girl and her father, 29-year-old Nery Gilberto Caal Cuz, were arrested with the large group near the Antelope Wells border crossing at about 9:15 p.m. Dec 6.
The rugged, mountainous area is home to ghost towns and abandoned buildings from Old West homesteader days. It’s an unforgiving terrain where Geronimo made his last stand and remains largely isolated with no cell service and few unpaved roads. The sparsely used official port of entry is open from 10 a.m. to 4 pm.