by Daveda Gruber:
Thursday the House of Representatives made a remarkable move. They went to work and approved a bill that would fund most of the federal government through early February. It will provides $5.7 billion for President Trump’s border wall.
To understand what Republicans were up against, eight (8) Republicans joined all one hundred and seventy-seven (177) voting Democrats to oppose the measure. It passed 217-185.
The bill now goes to the Senate. It will probably fall short of the sixty (60) votes needed for passage since the chamber’s forty-nine (49) Democrats are against funding the wall.
The chances increase for a partial government shutdown later this week. Parts of the federal government, including nine (9) of fifteen (15) Cabinet-level departments and dozens of agencies, will cease operations at midnight Friday.
The vote came hours after Trump told House GOP leaders that he would not enact a Senate-passed package that does not provide money for the barrier.
As you can see, Trump is now calling the wall a barrier.
In a statement, members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, whose leaders had pushed the hardest for Trump to stand his ground on the wall issue, said: “Republicans in Congress have continually told the American people that we would fight for wall funding, and today the House of Representatives took its first step toward fulfilling that promise. The Senate must follow our lead. It’s time we do what we said and work with President Trump and the American people to secure our borders.”
Trump took to Twitter to make his point and tweeted up a storm:
Thank you to our GREAT Republican Members of Congress for your VOTE to fund Border Security and the Wall. The final numbers were 217-185 and many have said that the enthusiasm was greater than they have ever seen before. So proud of you all. Now on to the Senate!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018
Soon to be Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, last week live from the Oval Office, that the Republicans didn’t have the votes for Border Security. Today the House Republicans voted and won, 217-185. Nancy does not have to apologize. All I want is GREAT BORDER SECURITY!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018
Senator Mitch McConnell should fight for the Wall and Border Security as hard as he fought for anything. He will need Democrat votes, but as shown in the House, good things happen. If enough Dems don’t vote, it will be a Democrat Shutdown! House Republicans were great yesterday!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018
The Democrats are trying to belittle the concept of a Wall, calling it old fashioned. The fact is there is nothing else’s that will work, and that has been true for thousands of years. It’s like the wheel, there is nothing better. I know tech better than anyone, & technology…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018
…..on a Border is only effective in conjunction with a Wall. Properly designed and built Walls work, and the Democrats are lying when they say they don’t. In Israel the Wall is 99.9% successful. Will not be any different on our Southern Border! Hundreds of $Billions saved!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018
No matter what happens today in the Senate, Republican House Members should be very proud of themselves. They flew back to Washington from all parts of the World in order to vote for Border Security and the Wall. Not one Democrat voted yes, and we won big. I am very proud of you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018
The Democrats, whose votes we need in the Senate, will probably vote against Border Security and the Wall even though they know it is DESPERATELY NEEDED. If the Dems vote no, there will be a shutdown that will last for a very long time. People don’t want Open Borders and Crime!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018
House Republican Vote, 217-185.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018
Shutdown today if Democrats do not vote for Border Security!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018
Even President Ronald Reagan tried for 8 years to build a Border Wall, or Fence, and was unable to do so. Others also have tried. We will get it done, one way or the other!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018
It looks like Trump wants the wall.
Trump says funding bill must include border security.
Trump said at a White House event, “I am asking Congress to defend the border of our nation. Walls work, whether we like it or not.”
Trump added, “I look forward to signing a bill that fulfills our fundamental duty to the American people … we’ll see what we can do.”
Now we wait for the Senate.
My belief is that if Mitch McConnell doesn’t believe we can get sixty (60) votes. The next option would be to go nuclear. Can we get fifty-one (51)?
We could be facing a government shutdown if we don’t go nuclear. Also, keep in mind, we do need fifty-one (51) votes.
The way I see it is that if McConnell sees we will not get the votes, then let it go to the new Senate in the new year. We can survive a government shutdown over the holidays, can’t we?