Tag: Government shutdowns in the United States

(CNN)As federal employees brace themselves for their second missed paycheck should the government not reopen in time to make payroll by Tuesday, some members of Congress have decided to join them in a show of solidarity and refuse their paychecks. So far, 102 members of Congress say they will turn down their paychecks during the partial government shutdown, according to social media posts and statements reviewed by CNN. That comprises 20 senators and 82 representatives, with members from both parties making up a similar proportion of those going without pay. Twenty-four representatives and two new senatorspassing on pay are newly elected and were sworn in this year. While most have asked House Chief Administrative Officer Phil Kiko or Senate financial officials to withhold their pay, others say they plan to donate it to particular charities or causes. Among them is Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat who tweeted on New Year's Day -- the day after she announced she would explore a 2020 presidential run -- that she would be donating her paycheck to HIAS, a nonprofit that helps refugees. Several members of Congress have also pushed legislation that would penalize members for allowing a shutdown to occur. Rep. Kurt Schrader, an Oregon Democrat, introduced a bill in 2017 that would automatically dock members' pay during government shutdowns, and Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican, introduced a constitutional amendment the day before the government shut down that would ban them from being paid.

President Trump reversed course on the government shutdown, signing a bill on Friday that reopened the government for three weeks without any guarantees of funding for a wall along the southern border. The FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast team discusses why he decided to back down and debates what kind of agreement lawmakers and Trump could come to on border security. And in the latest installment of “The Theory of the Case,” the crew considers the presidential bids of Tulsi Gabbard, a U.S. representative from Hawaii, and Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. You can listen to the episode by clicking the “play” button in the audio player above or by downloading it in iTunes, the ESPN App or your favorite podcast platform. If you are new to podcasts, learn how to listen. The FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast publishes Monday evenings, with occasional special episodes throughout the week. Help new listeners discover the show by leaving us a rating and review on iTunes. Have a comment, question or suggestion for “good polling vs. bad polling”? Get in touch by email, on Twitter or in the comments.

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—A furious Donald Trump told reporters on Friday morning that it was “a total disgrace” that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had apparently not been affected by the government shutdown. Trump, who appeared agitated and was gripping his television remote as he spoke on the White House lawn, said that he had been under the impression that F.B.I. agents had been furloughed and were not going to work. “You have people across the country, in national parks and places like that, who are not at work, and somehow the F.B.I. is working around the clock?” Trump said. “I think it’s a total disgrace. It’s a sick situation.” Trump said that he would call an emergency meeting of his Cabinet to “get some answers” about why the F.B.I. was working during the shutdown. “Let’s say you were trying to leave the country in a hurry with your family—would the F.B.I. be at the airport to stop you?” he asked.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Signs of strain from the 34-day partial government shutdown are emerging on the Senate floor. Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado tore into Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas on Thursday after Cruz backed a GOP bill to pay Coast Guard members but not reopen the government. The normally mild-mannered Bennet erupted in a fiery speech, saying, “These crocodile tears that the senator from Texas is crying for first responders are too hard for me to take.” Bennet noted that Cruz single-handedly shut down the government in 2013, at a time when Colorado was flooded. His voice rising to a shout, Bennet said eight people were killed and many homes and businesses destroyed because of the flooding. “And because of the senator from Texas, this government was shut down for politics,” delaying relief efforts, Bennet said. Cruz, who led a 16-day government shutdown in a failed bid to derail funding for the Affordable Care Act, said Bennet “spent a great deal of time yelling (and) attacking me personally,” adding that he has never “bellowed or yelled at a colleague on the Senate floor, and I hope I never do that.” Bennet shot back that, unlike Cruz, he never called someone a liar on the Senate floor. Cruz famously accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of lying to him during an extended tirade in 2015. Bennet also denounced President Donald Trump, saying he “wants $5 billion to build some antiquated medieval wall that he said Mexico would pay for. This is a joke.” Cruz, for his part, said Bennet and other Democrats opposed the wall merely because of Trump. “They really, really, really, really don’t like this man,” Cruz said.

Union leaders representing air traffic controllers, pilots and flight attendants issued an urgent warning on Wednesday that the month-long government shutdown was threatening the safety and security of the nation’s air travel system. “We cannot even calculate the level of risk currently at play, nor predict the point at which the entire system will break,” the union leaders wrote. Senate to vote on pair of bills that could end government shutdown Read more They said staffing at air traffic control facilities was at a “30-year low” as the rate of employee callouts continued to rise. To compensate for the staffing shortages, the union leaders said controllers were working overtime, including 10-hour shifts, six days a week. The Federal Aviation Administration has frozen hiring as a result of the shutdown, meaning they are unable to fill staffing requirements, the statement says. “As union leaders, we find it unconscionable that aviation professionals are being asked to work without pay and in an air safety environment that is deteriorating by the day,” the statement said. As many as 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers are among the 420,000 federal employees working without pay as the shutdown reaches a 33rd day over Donald Trump’s insistence that Congress fund a wall along the south-west border. With reduced staffing, some airports have had to close security checkpoints or appeal for additional screeners to help with the long lines at checkpoints. Meanwhile, airlines are reporting tens of millions in lost revenue. The partial shutdown, which began on 22 December, is the longest in American history.

Before Trump was President, party leaders had seemed at least open to funding a barrier on the border as part of wider immigration legislation. But for Trump, there would have been no shutdown. In the last week, Trump has tried a variety of political stunts to try to shift the blame. "The only way you will stop it is with a very powerful wall or steel barrier," Trump said at the White House on Friday. Now, as he seeks taxpayer cash to build a wall that he promised Mexico would pay for, the President is offering the fact-bending claims that America's neighbor has already settled up -- in a yet to be ratified new trade deal. For all the power of his campaign trail rhetoric among supporters, he's not shifted the political needle at all. In fact, the wall has become such an emotional center of Trump's relationship with his political base — and such a symbol of antipathy towards the President for those who oppose him — that it's become an insoluble issue. He might be able to sell his supporters on a battle in the courts after an almost certain legal challenge and reap political capital. We owe it to the American people. McConnell has refused to act on Democratic House bills to open various government agencies, since Trump will not agree to sign them.

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with political commentators Jonathan Capehart of The Washington Post, and Mary Katharine Ham of CNN, about the border wall, government shutdown and the likelihood of President Trump declaring a national emergency. HAM: Well, I think the national emergency solution - and I'm making air quotes (laughter) - is what would end it quickly. And so I think that as long as the president keeps saying that he wants a border - wants the border wall a - excuse me - a physical wall, that is going to be a problem for Democrats. SHAPIRO: But it didn't have all the money for the wall that President Trump wanted. HAM: Yeah, I mean, the reason that I think this is because if you look at the pure political calculus - and that's - political pressure is what ends these things... CAPEHART: Right. HAM: ...For Democrats. SHAPIRO: It could (laughter)... HAM: Although I have been wrong a thousand times before about Donald Trump, so... CAPEHART: Well, right. SHAPIRO: This week, the White House has staged so many events to try to sell this wall to the American people or to Republicans and Democrats in Congress. SHAPIRO: We, every time there's a shutdown, talk about the political consequences, and it seems that every time an election rolls around, people have forgotten about the shutdown. So this time we're talking about whether Democrats or Republicans in Congress or the president will pay more of a political price.

At a cabinet meeting prior to the briefing, Trump warned that parts of the government would could remain closed for a “a long time” without a deal. “We’re asking the president to open up government,” Nancy Pelosi, who is expected to assume the speakership of the House of Representatives on Thursday, said after the briefing with Trump. Why would he not do it?” The shutdown was triggered by Trump’s demand that Congress allocate more than $5bn in taxpayer money to build a wall along the 2,000-mile border between the US and Mexico – a concession Democrats refuse to make. The shutdown, which entered its 12th day on Wednesday, has affected nearly 800,000 federal workers. The incoming House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, said Trump invited leaders back to the White House on Friday. The Republican-controlled Senate passed a spending bill last month that would have funded the government through 8 February without money for a border wall. But Republican leaders in the House refused to hold a vote on the measure. On Capitol Hill after the briefing on Wednesday, Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, told reporters that it could take “weeks” to break the stalemate and that Wednesday’s meeting did not produce “any particular progress”. Schumer said he implored Trump to reopen the government while they debated their differences over the border wall. “We asked him to give us one good reason – I asked him directly,” Schumer said.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Paula McIntyre, a communications consultant from Cedar, Mich., said of the deadlock at the nation’s capital and its impact on — of all things — national parks. The shutdown didn’t prevent Ms. McIntyre from walking the historic battlefield with her family. But the actions of lawmakers and President Trump hung in the chilly air — as did signs tacked to the visitor center explaining its closure. National parks such as River Raisin are dealing with a partial government shutdown that doesn’t seem to be headed toward a quick resolution. The National Park Service is deciding case-by-case which parks to close and what services to prioritize during the shutdown. I think it’s Trump fault,” said Doug Minidis with a laugh. “The government [workers] would gladly have it open, but those who have a different agenda refuse to compromise.” Mr. Minidis said he’s a history buff and enjoys learning about sites such as River Raisin. This is our American history. America has always been great and will always be great.” Susan McIntyre, Paula McIntyre’s mother, who lives in Monroe, said you can’t blame government workers for something they can’t control. “She’s right,” Susan McIntyre said.