President Trump Meets With ‘Problem Solvers Caucus’ Without Nancy Pelosi
Patrick Howley
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President Donald Trump met with a “Problem Solvers Caucus” from both parties at the White House Wednesday in a Situation Room meeting in which Nancy Pelosi was not present.
The Democrat problem solvers left the door open to “common ground” but still requested that the government re-open before that common ground can be discovered.
Here are what the Democrat problem solvers said about the meeting. The Democrat problem solvers include “Josh Gottheimer, Thomas Suozzi, Vincente Gonzalez, Anthony Brindisi, Dean Phillips, Max Rose, and Abigail Spanberger,” but no Pelosi.
“Over the last weeks, we have been listening to our constituents and speaking with our fellow Members of Congress — in both parties and in both chambers. There is strong agreement across the aisle and around the country: We must reopen the government. Our security, safety, and economy have been compromised, and millions of families are suffering,” the Democrat problem solvers stated.
“There is also strong agreement that if we reopen the government, the possibility exists to work together and find common ground to tackle some of our country’s toughest problems and fix them. But that conversation can only begin in earnest once the government is reopened. We accepted the White House’s invitation to meet today to convey that message,” the Democrat problem solvers said.
Meanwhile, Democrats are looking for ways to play ball with the President.
Democrat congressman Hakeem Jeffries said on the House floor that Democrats “are prepared to have a conversation about infrastructure on the border” and “a conversation about our broken immigration system.”
Jeffries is the latest Democrat to suggest open-mindedness on compromise so long as Democrats can use a different term than “Wall.”
Jeffries said that Democrats are not prepared to have these conversations during President Trump’s supposedly vindictive government shutdown, but they might have no choice.
California Democrat Katie Hill went on Fox News to talk about Democrat openness to “physical barriers,” and Rep. Cheri Bustos expressed openness to a “partial Wall.”
President Trump can build the Wall through the national emergency option, especially considering the fact that the United States has 31 active emergencies declared by Trump and previous presidents, including 11 active emergencies declared by Barack Obama. (READ: How President Trump Can Get Around The Ninth Circuit To Build The Wall).
Furloughed federal workers can be laid off using the “Reduction In Force”procedure after 30 days. The government has been shut down for 26 days. Laying off the non-essential workers would save taxpayers more than $1 billion per week, according to data compiled by the Center for American Progress.
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