Trump's 35 Day Shutdown
On December 22, 2018, what would be known as the longest government shutdown in all of American history began. This was the second government shutdown to occur under the administration of President Donald Trump.
The government shutdown was caused by a congressional conflict arisen from Democrats refusing to sign a bill that would fund the proposed Mexican border wall, one of Trump’s main campaign promises.
The border wall was met with controversy by the public. A recent Gallup poll from January 2019 found that around 60% of American citizens opposed construction of the border wall, while 81% of Americans supported an easier way for undocumented immigrants to gain legal citizenship.
On January 12, 2019, Donald Trump tweeted: “I do have a plan on the Shutdown. But to understand that plan you would have to understand the fact that I won the election, and I promised safety and security for the American people. Part of that promise was a Wall at the Southern Border. Elections have consequences!” This was posted on the 22nd day of the shutdown, which broke the previous record of 21 days set by former president Bill Clinton as the longest federal government shutdown yet.
Under the administration of former president Bill Clinton, there were two government shutdowns. Both of these shutdowns, including the one aforementioned above, had existed in the context of the majority of Congress wishing to pass bills that would cut back on government spending on the environment, healthcare, and education, while Clinton desired opposite results.
This shutdown was met with the same amount of controversy as the border wall itself, as 800,000 federal workers were left unpaid for weeks on end. Thousands of workers were furloughed, while TSA workers, the National Guard, and other essential personnel were forced to come into work even after missing their first paycheck midway through January.
This includes Mallory Lodge, a US Fish and Wildlife employee who has Type-1 diabetes. She has been rationing insulin since the shutdown began because she was unable to pay for it, a practice that has killed many diabetics before.
“I [couldn’t] afford to go to the ER. I [couldn’t] afford anything. I just went to bed and hoped I’d wake up,” said Lodge to NBC News, when asked about her risky situation.
The shutdown temporarily ended on January 25 after President Trump had accepted a three-week funding deal in which the government would be reopened, allowing for government workers to be paid once more. However, Donald Trump has hinted that this issue was far from over until there was a definite plan for the border wall to be funded.
In fact, Trump hinted at a possible executive order during a speech detailing the partial shutdown to congressional leaders in the Rose Garden of the White House. “If we don’t get a fair deal from Congress,” Trump said, “the government will either shut down on Feb. 15, or I will use the powers afforded to me under the laws and Constitution of the United States to address this emergency.”
by ATHENA LI