White House Meetings On The Shutdown & Border Wall

Apparently, this is the hill he wants to die on.

Leon Fresco Verified account @FrescoLeon 6 hours ago

By the way, one point that is so obvious, no one is making it. If POTUS wanted to, he could extend DACA and TPS right now on his own. The fact that he is not doing that and using it as a bargaining chip is unhelpful to him for the remainder of the litigation on these issues.

Kyle Griffin Verified account @kylegriffin1 4 hours ago

Nancy Pelosi: "There is serious and justified concern that this president would shut down the government any time he does not get his way legislatively. That is why we must hold the line on this shutdown." Via ABC

Greg Sargent Verified account @ThePlumLineGS 6 hours ago

It's incredible to me that so many smart people don't understand that if Trump reopened govt tomorrow without any strings attached, he would *not actually have surrendered anything or made any concessions.*

Agreeing to stop hurting the country to get your way isn't a concession.

Rick Wilson Verified account @TheRickWilson 2 hours ago

Here's why Trump is about to fold:

The shutdown is a polling disaster and Trump owns it.

The Wall is no excuse for the shutdown.

This is way bad.

AP-NORC poll: Shutdown drags Trump approval to yearlong low
By STEVE PEOPLES and EMILY SWANSON
an hour ago

Overall, 34 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance in a survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That’s down from 42 percent a month earlier and nears the lowest mark of his two-year presidency. The president’s approval among Republicans remains close to 80 percent, but his standing with independents is among its lowest points of his time in office.

Trump’s demand for a $5.7 billion border wall is also unpopular.

Overall, 49 percent of Americans oppose the plan to build a massive wall along the Mexican border; 36 percent of the nation is in favor.

How unpopular is Donald Trump?
An updating calculation of the president's approval rating, accounting for each poll's quality, recency, sample size and partisan lean.
By fivethirtyeight.com
UPDATED JAN. 23, 2019

As one person commented, it's interesting seeing 2014 McConnell troll 2019 McConnell...

Video - McConnell: 'Remember me? I am the guy that gets us out of shutdowns'
By Dana Bash, CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent
Updated 3:18 AM ET, Thu August 28, 2014

In his strongest words to date, Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, tried to quash talk that he would allow another government shutdown if he becomes Senate majority leader next year.

"Of course not. Remember me? I am the guy that gets us out of shutdowns," McConnell told CNN in an exclusive interview Wednesday.

"It's a failed policy," he said of shutdowns.

No, the Democrats are not heartless and do not want Americans suffering. The bill that was presented was absurd, they knew there was no way the Democrats would accept it.
Trump-McConnell Bill Is an Anti-Immigrant Wish List
It would gut asylum laws and make it harder for people with DACA and TPS to keep protections
By Avideh Moussavian, Patrick O’Shea, and Holly Straut-Eppsteiner
JANUARY 23, 2019

Per Rick Wilson, GOP Strategist, this shutdown is all but over.
GOP senators read Pence riot act before shutdown votes
January 24, 2019

Frustrated GOP senators read Vice President Pence the riot act at a closed-door meeting Thursday, telling him the partial government shutdown needs to end soon, according to lawmakers in the room.

Republican senators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), warned the vice president that prolonging the shutdown is not a smart political strategy, in hopes of sending a clear message to President Trump that he needs to resolve the crisis as soon as possible.

Lawmakers vented their irritation to Pence shortly before six GOP senators defected to vote for a Democratic-backed bill that would open the government without funding Trump's proposed border wall.

One GOP senator said lawmakers told Pence "the shutdown needs to come to an end, this is not a strategy that works [and] we never should have had a shutdown in the first place."

Trump White House grows eager to escape losing shutdown fight
After a day of failed Senate action, Trump and his advisers realize they may never win over Democrats in a battle that is costing them dearly.
By ELIANA JOHNSON, BURGESS EVERETT and HEATHER CAYGLE
01/24/2019 05:57 PM EST Updated 01/24/2019 06:15 PM EST

Now that the Senate has shot down President Donald Trump’s compromise offer to end the month-long government shutdown, White House officials aren’t sure of their next move.

But they do know one thing: they’re losing, and they want to cut a deal.

How bad are things getting? Wilbur Ross got raked over the coals today on Twitter for his idiotic comments, and Trump saying grocery stores should work with people for food is about as out of touch as you can get.
Debunking 5 Misconceptions About Being a Government Worker During the Shutdown

The real threat the government shutdown poses for the American economy

And counter-terrorism, money laundering, fraud, cybersecurity, etc...
FBI agents say shutdown is hampering counterterrorism, sex trafficking probes

How the government shutdown is putting national cybersecurity at risk

We don't need no steenkin' firefighters and they don't need no steenkin' training...
Beleaguered firefighters put on hold by government shutdown

One of many, most likely.
Southern Nevada housing authority may use reserves for rental subsidies

You don't say...Iranians? Lovely, I'm sure they have the best of intentions. At least it's not the Chinese or the Russians...
DHS CISA publishes emergency directive to mitigate against DNS infrastructure tampering

A cyber-espionage group, believed to be operating out of Iran, had modified DNS records for the domains of private companies and government agencies after hacking into web hosting or domain registrar accounts.

Air Traffic Controllers, Pilots, Flight Attendants Detail Serious Safety Concerns Due to Shutdown

John Kelly among ex-DHS secretaries pressuring Trump to fund 'critical mission' of the agency

Government Shutdown May Prove ‘Catastrophic’ to the Outdoor Industry, Experts Say

This is a really long read, but well worth it. There's a bigger picture here and we've gotten lost in the weeds. This is the context in which we should all be thinking about border security, crime, immigration, and our economy.

And fear.

Walls, Damned Lies, and Statistics
Jim Wright, Stonekettle Station
Thursday, January 24, 2019

Build a wall and crime will fall? What crime? What kind of crime? Murder? Rape? Shoplifting? Speeding? Tax evasion by billionaires? Political corruption? Treason? What crimes are we talking about?

And when Trump says “crime will fall,” what does that mean? Fall? That’s a pretty vague measure. Fall by what? Feet? Meters? The number of barleycorns that will fit on Trump’s tiny thumb? Furlongs per fortnight? Are we talking eighty percent or some fraction of a percentage point?

I mean, slogans are great and all, but what are we really talking about here?

Trump gleefully seizes on every violent crime committed by an illegal alien…

… but never seems to mention the hundreds, thousands, of similar crimes committed every week by those Americans who were born and raised right here in the good old United States of America.

What percentage of crimes are committed by illegal immigrants?

Is this really the most significant problem we face? Crime wise?

What are the statistics? What percentage of crime, and what kind of crimes? It matters, you know.

Show me the equation.

No. No. Don’t shake your head and try to move the goalpost. Trump said: “BUILD THE WALL AND CRIME WILL FALL.”

Look here, you want to spend billions of dollars that we do not have to build a wall, and you tell me that wall will cause crime to fall by some amount. Okay. Fair enough. Prove it. Or if not prove it, at least show me the numbers which support your argument.

All right, let’s start by looking at crime in total.

Mary Clare Jalonick @MCJalonick (covers Congress for The Associated Press in Washington.) 1 minute ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — AP sources: White House and congressional leaders near short-term deal to end longest government shutdown in US history.