MEADOWS: Shutdown Will Last ‘Weeks’ If Democrats Don’t Play Ball
Patrick Howley
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House Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows of North Carolina said that the government shutdown will last “weeks,” based on the Democrats’ pitiful attempt to solve the situation without a Wall.
“If this is the best effort at compromise that she can muster then the partial shutdown will continue weeks not days,” Meadows said Monday after House Democrats put forth a strategy to pass a package of bills that would end the government shutdown without giving President Trump and the American people a magnificent Wall on the southern border.
Nancy Pelosi, 78, is trying to cling to her position as party leader and win the speakership election, but the White House thinks her potential capitulation to the president on the Wall would dash her political future among the party bosses and rank-and-file members of the Democrat caucus.
The Democrats at first tried to get around the Wall sneakily, with Sheila Jackson-Lee introducing a fanfare-free bill that would prohibit any taxpayer money from going to the Wall. Pelosi, who was vacationing in Hawaii, obviously could not come up with any kind of meaningful strategy to force the government back open. The Associated Press reported on her new round of bills, which might very well pass the House but which have no chance of passing the Republican-controlled Senate.
Mitch McConnell’s spokesman said Monday that the Senate will not even consider any bills that the president will not sign. And President Trump is not prepared to sign any bills that do not fund his Wall.
Mark Meadows and his Freedom Caucus cohorts, including Jim Jordan of Ohio and Louie Gohmert of Texas, have been instrumental in the push for the Wall, which has resulted in a shutdown that reaches Day 11 on Tuesday.
Texas conservative Rep. Louie Gohmert brought the thunder Wednesday night as the Freedom Caucus seized the House floor to demand $5 billion in congressional spending for President Donald Trump’s border wall.
“Now we need Americans to help remind our Republican leaders to help our president build the wall — like we said. If that doesn’t happen, I don’t think the Senate can count on being back in the majority. They won’t be – it’s that serious,” said Gohmert in his House floor remarks.
The Freedom Caucus took the House floor Wednesday night to demand $5 billion in congressional funding for President Donald Trump’s border wall.
“The time to fight is now” declared Jim Jordan of Ohio, who joined with North Carolina’s Mark Meadows in the late-night effort.
The Freedom Caucus sent a clear signal to the commander in chief President Donald Trump: if you veto the “stopgap” bill that kicks the can down the road a few pointless months, then we will have a Christmas season government shutdown. And isn’t time we start saying Merry Christmas again in this Country?
“Mr. President, we’re going to back you up if you veto this — back you up. If you veto this bill, we’ll be there, more importantly, the American people will be there. They’ll be there to support you. Let’s build the wall and make sure we do our job in Congress,” said Freedom Caucus heavyweight Meadows.
“The president, many, many months ago said he would not sign another funding bill unless we gave him wall funding. What did this House do? It passed the bill to fund the Department of Defense and passed a short-term C.R. And said we are going to have that fight after the mid-terms,” said Meadows, who called out loser outgoing speaker Paul Ryan directly.
Here’s what Jim Jordan had to say: “Everyone knows the old line. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. But we’re going to have to change that line — we’re to need a new one. The new line should be Fool the American people four times, shame on Congress.”
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