(This post may contain disputed claims. We make no assertions as to the validity of the information presented by our Opinion Columnist. We are an opinion blog, not a traditional news outlet, and this post should be treated as such. Enjoy.)The race is on in Washington, D.C. for Republicans and Democrats to reach a compromise on border wall funding before midnight Friday in order to avoid a government shutdown. With everything on the line, the real Republicans are revolting against their RINO colleagues like Speaker Paul Ryan in order to stand firmly with President Donald Trump.
North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Meadows and House Freedom Caucus members will vote “no” on a short-term funding bill that would fund the government until February 8, as funding is set to expire at midnight on Friday, causing a government shutdown.
Funding for the government was set to expire Dec. 7. However, the House of Representatives passed a two-week resolution to avoid a government shutdown by unanimous consent in a voice vote, meaning members did not have to be present for the vote. The Senate, which is in session, then approved the bill, funding the government until Dec. 21.
If approved, the bill will fund the government until Feb. 8 and give both sides more time to work out their differences on the border wall. However, Democrats will maintain control of the House beginning Jan. 3. [Source: The Political Insider]
“The president many months ago said he wouldn’t sign another funding bill unless we gave him wall funding. So what did this House do? It passed a bill to fund the Department of Defense and passed a short-term CR [continuing resolution] and said, ‘You know what? We’re going to have that fight, but we’re going to have that fight after the midterms,'” Rep. Meadows said on Thursday.
“You know what, Mr. Speaker? It’s after the midterms. And we’re here to say that we’re ready to fight on behalf of all the freedom-loving Americans to make sure we have secure borders,” he added.
“Mr. President, we’re going to back you up. If you veto this bill we’ll be there. But more importantly the American people will be there. They’ll be there to support you. Let’s build the wall and make sure that we do our job in Congress,” Meadows continued.
Meadows and the conservative House Freedom Caucus will vote “no” on a funding bill as it does not include the $5 billion President Donald Trump and Republicans have been asking for. Other Republicans have reportedly said they are in favor of supporting the continuing resolution in order to avoid a government shutdown, saying they will work on funding after the holidays.
However, Meadows told TheDCNF Wednesday afternoon that he believes now is the “time to fight,” instead of accepting a bill that includes no wall funding. [Source: The Daily Caller]
“The bottom line is simple: it’s deeply irresponsible for this Congress to keep sending the president status quo funding bills, without any of his promises included, and essentially say ‘sign this, or shut down the government,'” said Meadows. “The president doesn’t pass bills — that’s our job, and for Congress to surrender and accept defeat before the hard work even starts is wrong. The time to fight is now.”
President Trump and the Republicans know that now is the time to act. If they pass another continuing resolution to fund the government until February, the Democrats will have taken over control of Congress and any hopes of getting the border wall built will be all but lost.
Of course, the Democrats know this full well, which is why they are refusing to budge. They know that if they can simply hold out a little bit longer, they will be in control and able to blame any shutdown which results on the Trump administration.
However, President Trump has already said that he is proud to own the shutdown if, ultimately, that’s what it takes to secure the border. That is how important it is. That is how strongly he feels about it. And, that is exactly why we elected him.
