Government shutdowns normally seem ridiculous and useless, and the most recent one is no exception. As of January 12, 2019, the U.S Government has been shut down for 22 days, breaking the previously held record for the longest shutdown.
(Photo by Bruno Figueiredo on UnSplash)
The driving force behind the shutdown is the cost needed to build a border wall between Mexico. U.S. President Trump is demanding five billion dollars for a border wall to be built. However, congressional Democrats do not seem to be backing down on their opposition towards building the wall. Trump has said he was going to call for a national emergency in an effort to get funding.
(Photo Courtesy by FEMA)
The fight between each party is taking on a dark turn. Republicans are painting Democrats as unconcerned about border security. Trump uses scare tactics to garner public support for a wall and to undermine Democrats. He previously called the U.S and Mexican border a national emergency. Most of us have seen him talk on TV about the drugs being smuggled into the U.S from Mexico, blaming the current drug epidemic on illegal immigrants.
(Photo Courtesy of TIME)
With roughly 800,000 federal workers impacted and the threat of the President declaring a national emergency, this shut down seems like a mindless way for the President to get what he wants. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been working without pay or not working due to the want for a seemingly needless and costly wall. Nancy Pelosi, a House Speaker, spoke out about Trump’s actions, saying he was “holding the American people hostage” to build the wall.
Many Americans are left asking questions. Some that I have are with the constant fighting between Democrats and Republicans, is a wall really the main issue? Or is it the need for each party to have power and control? Are our taxes and government assistance programs going to be affected by this next? The questions are never-ending. Interested to see how this will continue to play out between Trump and the government across the political new channels.