The media finally got the fun House they wanted — run entirely by
Democrats. And their arrival made journalists nearly scream in PC glee.
They’ve
been fighting President Donald Trump all alone for two years. The
arrival of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and liberal media darlings like
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez set off a veritable House party in the press.
They now have powerful allies who will do what they want — attack Trump.It was “a triumphant return to power” for new House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, “a new era”
and “an earthquake in Trump world.” CNN even called it “girl power” and
pretended she was reaching out in a “non-partisan” way to “women of all
parties.” The network actually took her out to her native Baltimore to
get ice cream from her favorite ice cream shop.
ABC’s Senior National Correspondent Terry Moran
emphasized that “[f]or the first time President Trump entering his
third year as president is gonna face an opposition with real power in
Washington.”
Apparently, 24-7 press opposition wasn’t enough.
The Washington Post didn’t hide its feelings about the power switch: “Pelosi seeks a return to normalcy, but an unpredictable president may not comply.”
The “Democracy Dies in Darkness” paper found the liberal who promised
to “light the way” and could barely contain itself. The paper
practically took on the role of Pelosi’s press office, noting, “she has a
long history working productively with Republicans.”
The New York Times described Pelosi as an “Icon of Female Power” and talked about her rise “from the well-mannered daughter of a Baltimore mayor to a savvy legislator.”
It
wasn’t just about Pelosi. Journalists celebrated everything from the
Democrats’ fashion sense to diversity — already a media sacred term. The
word “diverse” was on many reporters’ lips. But heaven help anyone who
didn’t look right (or, left?).
Journalists focused on the women’s
clothes and white men’s race — because when they do it, it’s not sexist
or racist. Politico’s Congress reporter Rachel Bade
skewered the white Republicans in their dark suits. “Sitting above the
chamber, you see the stark contrast in color btw the GOP & Dem side:
the Rs are all in dark suits. Almost all white men. The Dem side is
speckled with pinks and purples and greens being worn by the historic #
of women. Also very ethnically diverse,” she tweeted.
Washington Post Fashion Critic Robin Givhan
celebrated the Democrats’ fashion sense. She declared, “fashion was not
merely a footnote, it was a rallying cry, a defiant gesture, a point of
cultural pride — a glorious, theatrical declaration of self. It was
white suits and pink dresses, Native American artistry, a Palestinian
thobe, a kente cloth stole, a hijab and a skintight pencil skirt with a
fur stole.”
Being liberal is a fashion statement. 2. Wall vs. shutdown: The government shutdown and the border wall continue to vex the media who see no reason for either.
This
was obvious when Trump held a short briefing in the press room and
journalists freaked out that he didn’t take questions. CNN called it, “Trump's press 'briefing' that wasn't.” Mediaite
summed up the press room reaction with this: “White House Reporters
Heckle Trump After Speech: ‘The Point of the Briefing Room is to Take
Questions!!!’”
Theoretical GOP consultant Rick Wilson
took the opportunity to mock the Republican base. He told CNN’s Don
Lemon, “the wall has always been a con for Donald Trump’s credulous rube
ten-toothed base.” One commentator said it was time for the GOP to “change the president’s diapers.”
The New York Times gave an entire page in its Sunday Review for an essay
by illegal immigrant activist and sometime journalist Jose Antonio
Vargas. It was titled “Portraits From a Caravan – Migrants escaping
peril wait in Tijuana for their American dream.” Just in case you
thought it might be neutral.
Thankfully, a little truth has seeped into the media coverage of the shutdown. Axios CEO Jim VandeHei characterized
the shift in the Democrat Party: “I think the feeling that they have to
appear to be really strong by supporting a lot more border security,
that that has waned, and that the enthusiasm of the Democratic Party is
for protecting immigrants.” 3. This Is CNN: New Year’s Eve is always a tough holiday for CNN as it trots out major anchors and mixes them with lots of alcohol.
Anchors Don Lemon and Anderson Cooper were both drinking. Anchor Brooke Baldwin even tweeted, “Thanks to all of y’all who watched, tweeted, and got #drunkdonlemon trending another year.”
I’ll let Daily Caller White House Correspondent Amber Athey explain the rest. “CNN reporter Randi Kaye kicked off New Year’s Eve by drinking champagne through a bong made out of a snorkel.”
Ah, journalism.
Then there was the self-absorbed segment with
“New Day” Co-host Alisyn Camerota who was upset about the social media
posts of a retired American Marine arrested by Russia for alleged
spying. Why? Because he posted, “Just drinking coffee and watching fake
news,” as he was pictured in front of a giant CNN logo.
Camerota
was actually interviewing the man’s twin brother and rather than show
sympathy over being arrested by Russian thugs, she fixated on the
arrested man’s disdain for CNN. “I'm not taking this personally that
he's pictured with CNN, but I just am wondering is this a statement on
his part somehow?” she claimed, though it was obvious she took it
personally.
Then again, the press always takes criticism personally.
As
Hollywood wrestles with what to do about the upcoming Oscars telecast
following the Kevin Hart controversy, one writer thinks he knows the
perfect host: veteran actor James Woods.
In a Saturday op-ed piece for the New York Post,
media writer Jon Levine argues that Woods, 71, could draw millions of
new and old viewers to the annual Hollywood gala during an era when
award shows of all kinds are facing declining ratings and accusations of
anti-conservative bias.
Woods, a Trump-loving conservative, has
gained a following in recent years by bashing critics of the president
and liberals in general on Twitter. He currently has 1.9 million
followers.
“Yes,
there would be 'outrage,'" Levine writes. “Hollywood’s Jacobins of
propriety would express their horror. Screenshots of trollish old tweets
(and there have been many) would make the rounds. Words like 'racist'
and 'sexist' would fly a mile a minute. But those costs would be a
pittance compared to the millions of new viewers he’d bring in (along
with the old viewers who’d be excited to see something different for a
change).”
Levine cites the current climate of political
correctness, noting that comic legends like Joan Rivers, Don Rickles and
even Jerry Seinfeld would not “escape today’s censors.”
“So, in
that spirit, why not go full bore with James Woods? Embracing the
offensive and learning to laugh at ourselves should be things that bring
us together,” he writes.
The Oscars were sent into crisis mode in December when comedian Hart was selected to host the 91st Academy Awards,
scheduled for Feb. 24. Within 24 hours, several of Hart's years-old
tweets and jokes, which some had deemed anti-gay, had resurfaced.
LGBTQ groups immediately called for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to rescind Hart's hosting invite.
In
one of the tweets, Hart wrote: “Yo if my son comes home & try’s 2
play with my daughters doll house I’m going 2 break it over his head
& say n my voice ‘stop that’s gay.”
The meme that Woods posted in July said #LetWomenDecide and
#NoMenMidterm. Woods acknowledged the tweet was "not likely" real.
(Twitter)
Woods has also come under fire for several tweets and was even temporarily locked out of Twitter for a satirical meme encouraging men not to vote in the 2018 midterm elections.
In 2017, he likened a child to a serial killer in what many called a transphobic tweet.
"This
is sweet. Wait until this poor kid grows up, realizes what you've done,
and stuffs both of you dismembered into a freezer in the garage," he
tweeted.
He also used the social media platform to help a veteran
contemplating suicide. The actor offered to talk with the veteran
privately.
“Andrew, don’t feel embarrassed that you reached out in
the darkness. Nobody thinks you’re foolish for that. You know every one
of us reaching out to you right now has some depression, too. I’ll say
it. I do,” Woods wrote. "I’m following you now, so you can DM me. We can
talk privately. Or we can talk openly right here. Lot of people worried
about you right now.
“So think about this. A lot of vets, I
understand, have come to where you are tonight. If you could just push
this decision off tonight, at least, maybe you would also inspire
another vet to seek help. You could save another man, too. By waiting to
do this.” Amid the outcry over his selection as Oscars host, Hart, 39, apologized to the LGBTQ community and stepped down
from the hosting gig. He is now “evaluating” retaking the job after
Ellen DeGeneres told him she reached out to the Academy on his behalf
and they said they wanted him to host.
“I called the Academy today
because I really want you to host the Oscars,” DeGeneres told Hart in
her talk show that aired Friday. “We want him to host, whatever we can
do, we’d be thrilled,” DeGeneres said the Academy told her. “The Academy
is saying what can we do to make this happen.”
Hart told DeGeneres he was still angry about how the tweets were brought up less than a day after he was given the hosting job.
“This
is stuff I have addressed. I’m not going to pay it any mind because
when you feed into that stuff you only add more fuel to the fire,” Hart
said. “You have put a lot of things on my mind. Leaving here, I’m
promising you I’m evaluating this conversation … Let me assess, just sit
in the space and really think.”
Or the Academy could take a cue from writer Levine and give the opportunity to someone like Woods.
Former U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy served for four terms before leaving the House last week. (Fox News)
Former Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., hit back at
Democrat Elizabeth Warren over Twitter in response to the
Massachusetts Democrat's claim that he retired from Congress to collect a
“fat lobbyist paycheck.”
Warren cited a Daily Caller article on Friday that reported Gowdy would be joining Nelson Mullins, a South Carolina law and lobbying firm.
“@TGowdySC
foamed at the mouth with power in Congress, then retired because he
claimed he didn't enjoy it. Now it’s clear: Trey Gowdy just wanted a fat
lobbyist paycheck. That should be illegal,” she tweeted.
She then called for a lifetime ban on lobbying by former members of Congress.
"We
need a lifetime ban on lobbying for members of Congress. And fix the
swiss cheese def of 'lobbying' so anyone who gets paid to influence
Washington has to register. Public service shouldn’t be a launching pad
for guys like @TGowdySC & @JoeLieberman to enrich themselves."
Gowdy,
who served for four terms before leaving Congress last week, responded
on Twitter, "I'm not lobbying. Not now. Or ever. Perhaps you were
cracking open a beer when that was announced,” referring an Instagram
live video of Warren opening a beer. "Don't mind your criticisms. Just
be more sensitive to facts.”
Warren announced this week she launched an exploratory committee to consider whether to jump into the 2020 presidential race. Gowdy
has been a target for Democrats going back to when he chaired the House
Benghazi Committee, which many Democrats decried as a witch hunt with
the intention of disrupting Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., blamed the "radical followers"
of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in his decision to end
an online debate over the U.S. tax rate.
U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., abruptly
halted a Twitter debate with newcomer Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
of New York early Sunday after at least three commenters made references
to the June 2017 shooting in which Scalise and three other people were
shot by a left-wing activist.
“snipe his a--,” one Twitter user wrote, in support of Ocasio-Cortez.
“she’s
got better aim that James Hodgkinson, that’s for sure,” another wrote,
comparing Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitter responses to the marksmanship of the
suspect in the Virginia shooting, a Bernie Sanders supporter who later
died in a shootout with police.
“Kick his cane,” a third wrote.
Prior
to the comments, Scalise and Ocasio-Cortez had been debating the
Democrat’s proposal for enacting a tax rate of up to 70 percent on
income. Scalise had called for letting Americans “keep more of their own
hard-earned money.”
He claimed that Democrats like Ocasio-Cortez
instead wanted to tax Americans’ income at higher rates in order to
“give it to leftist fantasy programs.”
But after the Twitter followers’ comments appeared, Scalise opted to end the online discussion.
“Hi
@AOC,” Scalise wrote to Ocasio-Cortez. “Happy to continue this debate
on the Floor of the People’s House, but it’s clearly not productive to
engage here with some of your radical followers. #StayClassy”
Scalise’s
tweet appeared about 1 a.m. ET Sunday, or about two hours after
Ocasio-Cortez’s late Saturday tweet, in which the newly sworn-in
congresswoman claimed that Scalise didn’t understand “how marginal tax
rates work.”
“Oh that’s right, almost forgot,” the Democratic
socialist wrote. “GOP works for the corporate CEOs showering themselves
multi-million bonuses; not the actual working people whose wages +
healthcare they’re ripping off for profit.”
If Ocasio-Cortez had seen Scalise’s 1 a.m. tweet, she offered no immediate response early Sunday.
The
29-year-old New Yorker, who stunned much of the political world in June
when she defeated longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley in a
primary and then won the state’s 14th Congressional District seat in
November, has been drawing increased media attention this week – both
for taking the oath of office Thursday and for an anticipated appearance
Sunday on CBS’s “60 Minutes.”
Previews of that taped CBS
interview included references to the Democrat’s 70 percent tax-rate
plan, to which Scalise and others reacted during the week.
Scalise,
the House Republican whip, was himself featured on “60 Minutes,” in his
first TV interview months after the Virginia shooting.
The
53-year-old congressman from New Orleans, who represents Louisiana’s 1st
Congressional District, spoke of the “little miracles” he was achieving
daily during his recovery.
Also wounded in the Virginia attack
were Zack Barth, a congressional aide; Matt Mika, a lobbyist; and
Crystal Griner, a U.S. Capitol police officer.
Scalise would later write about the shooting in the book, “Back in the Game: One Gunman, Countless Heroes, and the Fight for My Life,” which was published in November.
"I reject your facts," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, left,
reportedly said to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen during a
border-security meeting this week. "These aren't my facts," Nielsen
reportedly responded. "These are the facts."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Homeland
Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen got into a tense confrontation this
week, with the California Democrat interrupting Nielsen’s presentation
on border security and illegal immigration, telling her “I reject your
facts.”
The clash between the top House Democrat and a key member
of President Trump's Cabinet occurred during a Wednesday meeting in the
White House amid the impasse over the government shutdown, with Trump
standing firm and demanding $5 billion for the border wall.
At one point during the meeting, according to the Wall Street Journal,
Pelosi interrupted Nielsen, who was citing statistics related to the
border, including how many criminal illegal immigrants attempted to
enter the U.S. last year.
“I reject your facts,” Pelosi told Nielsen
“These aren’t my facts," Nielsen shot back. "These are the facts.”
"These aren’t my facts … These are the facts." — Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen
Following
the episode, Nielsen went to social media to criticize Pelosi and the
Democrats for not wanting to hear about the issue of illegal
immigration.
“I am disappointed that Dems did not want to hear
from @DHSgov about the security & humanitarian crisis we are facing
at the border,” Nielsen wrote. “They didn’t want to hear about criminal
aliens, drug smugglers, smuggled & abused children or violent
caravans trying to breach the border wall.”
“The crisis is not
going away-it is getting worse. The status quo in funding &
authorities for #DHS is irresponsible & makes our country less
secure,” she continued. “Kicking the can down the road is not the
answer. I look forward to engaging w Members who want to.”
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Senate Democrat, also criticized Nielsen’s presentation, telling Bloomberg that it “was not a credible presentation.”
“It
was preposterous,” Durbin said. “At a time when we have the lowest
level of apprehensions at the border — stopping people from coming in
illegally — the lowest level historically, she is saying that we have
all these terrorists and criminals and all these people on their way
in.”
Nielsen reportedly told the Democrats at the meeting that
border officials along the U.S.-Mexico border had apprehended about
3,000 people with terrorist ties and 17,000 criminals last year.
Pelosi
also asked quizzed the DHS head whether she was counting anyone
crossing the border illegally as having a criminal record, with the
administration denying that’s how the figure was devised.
Wednesday’s
meeting didn’t resolve the government shutdown as both sides continue
to stick to their principles and refuse to concede.
On Friday,
following another contentious meeting in the White House with
congressional leaders, Trump warned that the partial government shutdown
could last “years” and saying he could even declare a “national
emergency” to bypass Congress if necessary to build the wall.
“We
can call a national emergency [to build a border wall] because of the
security of our country,” Trump told reporters in the Rose Garden,
during a lengthy and impromptu press conference on Friday.
“I may do it,” he said, before adding, “If we can do it through a negotiated process, we’re giving it a shot.”
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers assist
travelers with luggage through a security screening area during a
partial federal government shutdown Monday, Dec. 31, 2018, at
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington state. (Associated
Press)
A Department of Homeland Security spokesman lashed out at CNN on Friday, labeling as "fake news" the network's report
that hundreds of Transportation Security Administration screeners at
the nation’s airports have been staging a "sick out" this week amid the
partial government shutdown.
In a tweet, DHS spokesman Tyler
Houlton accused the network of failing to validate its data and not
reaching out to agency officials for verification.
"More #FakeNews
from @CNN. Security operations at airports have not been impacted by a
non-existent sick out. CNN has the cell numbers of multiple @TSA public
affairs professionals, but rather than validate statistics, they grossly
misrepresented them," the tweet read.
The
TSA, meanwhile, tweeted a more measured response that said employee
absences began over the holidays but have had minimal impact on security
operations.
"Call outs began over the Holiday period and have
increased, but are causing minimal impact given there are 51,739
employees supporting the screening process," the tweet said. "TSA is
grateful to the agents who show up to work, remain focused on the
mission and respectful to the traveling public."
Even in the middle of the shutdown, TSA officers are mandated to work without pay.
Employee union officials told the New York Times
that TSA workers at several major airports have called in sick since
the shutdown began Dec. 22. More than 150 called out Friday from Kennedy
International Airport in New York City, according to the paper.
One
unnamed federal official said the call-outs seemed to be part of a
coordinated protest, but union officials said many employees who called
out sick were most likely looking for alternative employment to make up
for lost wages.
The shutdown is beginning its third week.
A
TSA spokesperson told the Times that wait times for passengers to board
flights could increase if the call-outs persist, and that the agency "is
grateful to the agents who show up to work, remain focused on the
mission and respectful to the traveling public as they continue the
important work necessary to secure the nation’s transportation systems.”
The
concern over airport security staffing followed speculation last month
over whether Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen would keep her
job.
TSA Administrator David Pekoske recently urged President
Trump to keep Nielsen despite reports that the president had grown
frustrated with her leadership.
"I've worked for Secretary Nielsen
for a little over a year now and in my view, she’s been an outstanding
secretary of homeland security," said Pekoske, according to the Washington Examiner.
"And she has been very, very supportive of me as the TSA administrator,
very interested in our issues, and importantly, very engaged with our
workforce."
China
is betraying a level of strategic anxiety not yet seen as the impact of
trade tariffs looms and its return to its historical power role in the
Asia seems to have stalled.
On Dec. 20, Chinese Rear Adm. Lou
Yuan, while speaking at a military trade conference, announced that what
the United States feared most was casualties and that the easiest way
to defeat China’s main rival was to sink two American supercarriers,
killing over 10,000 sailors in the process. When that has happened,
Admiral Lou announced, then “we’ll see how frightened America is.”
Lou’s
statements were followed just a few days later by China’s president, Xi
Jinping, who threateningly said China “reserves the option of taking
all necessary measures” to ensure “peaceful reunification” with Taiwan, a
democracy that has governed itself apart from China since 1949. Xi
added that Beijing was willing to “fight the bloody battle against our
enemies,” and menacingly predicted: “Reunification is the historical
trend and the right path, Taiwan independence is ... a dead end.” CLICK HERE TO READ 'STATE DEPARTMENT ISSUES NEW CHINA TRAVEL WARNING'
This
is a stark escalation of language. Taken with other examples of
bellicose rhetoric that have increasingly issued from Beijing officials,
it is clear that Xi Jinping and his supporters have been badly rattled
by the recent events.
China’s leaders assumed after the 2008
global financial crisis that the Communist, centrally controlled
economic state’s time had come. It would regain its historic role in the
region. It could cast off the cloak of a peaceful rise to assume a
hegemonic role in the Asia-Pacific region.
But
Xi and his followers have watched their diplomatic, economic and
military initiatives come up short, engendering increased resistance
from other Indo-Pacific nations rather than the realignment China had
expected. Now the Trump administration’s trade tariffs threaten to
destabilize the Chinese economy, resulting in a cascade failure of Xi
Jinping’s broader strategy and threatening to undermine the legitimacy
of the Communist Party, hence the stronger and more strident attacks.
China’s desperate attempts to regain the momentum, however, betray an ignorance of the American culture.
China
perceived the lack of strategic focus of the George W. Bush
administration and the passive “lead from behind” foreign policy of the
Obama administration as American decay and decline. In reality, the
foundational aspects of the American economy remain surprisingly strong
and the American fighting spirit is not dead -- merely sleeping. Those
who would believe that the sinking of two aircraft carriers would
trigger an impulse toward retreat would do well to make themselves aware
of the United States’ history and the impact events such as the sinking
of the Lusitania, the attack on Pearl Harbor and the collapse of the
World Trade Center had on the national psyche. What some have labeled
the Jacksonian impulse could be described as a tendency toward great
power rage. To be sure, it burns itself out. After all, the U.S. is
considering leaving Afghanistan, 17 years later.
But make no
mistake: Any attack upon a single U.S. aircraft carrier by long-range
aircraft, cruise missiles or ballistic missiles would surely generate a
response against the bases from which those weapons were launched, the
sensors associated with them and the command-and-control nodes that
directed them, and then the United States would turn its attention on
the Chinese naval and merchant fleet.
Before China knew what was
happening, it would be cut off from the overseas sources of energy and
raw materials that fuel its import/export economy. Within weeks it would
be without fuel and its factories would be shuttered. The American
economy, established in a nation that has most resources domestically
available, would be able to ride out the storm, even if China attempted
to climb the escalation ladder and attack targets in North America.
For
China, it is better to get its more bellicose voices under control and
approach the bargaining table with the United States over trade issues
in good faith and with an openness to real compromise on the economic
issues that divide our two nations, rather than resorting to nationalist
saber rattling.
Xi Jinping should try harder to understand his
real strategic position while remembering that he who rides the tiger
finds it difficult to dismount. There will be no return to global
hegemony or Middle Kingdom status. China brought its candle out from
under the basket too soon, and its broader, aggressive ambitions have
been revealed.
As for the United States, it should follow the lead
of President Trump and his new acting Secretary of Defense Patrick
Shanahan, who between them have identified that we are in an era of
great power competition that will require more effort and that the focus
of that competition is China, and China and China.
President Trump stood firm Friday on his demands for a border wall
after the second White House meeting with congressional leaders this
week broke up with no apparent deal, warning Democrats the partial
government shutdown could last "years" and saying he could even declare a
"national emergency" to bypass Congress if necessary.
“We can
call a national emergency [to build a border wall] because of the
security of our country,” Trump told reporters in the Rose Garden,
during a lengthy and impromptu press conference.
“I may do it,” he said, before adding, “If we can do it through a negotiated process, we’re giving it a shot.”
The
press conference underscored how far apart both sides are, even as
Trump called the meeting "productive" and suggested the standoff could
end soon -- or not. He indicated he was not shifting on his demand for
more than $5 billion for funding for a wall on the southern border,
saying it was necessary as the border is a "dangerous, horrible
disaster."
"This is national security we’re talking about, we’re
not talking about games," he told reporters. “We're not playing games,
we have to do it."
Despite
Trump saying conversations had "come a long way," Democrats were more
dour in their assessment. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer exited
saying Trump told them "he’d keep the government closed for a very long
period of time, months or even years.”
Trump later confirmed in
the Rose Garden, "Absolutely I said that," while clarifying he hopes the
partial shutdown doesn't last more than a few more days. He said it
could be opened "very quickly" if they come to an agreement on the wall.
He offered some flexibility only on what the wall would be made of,
saying it could be concrete or steel.
"Steel is more expensive
than the concrete, but I feel like we’re talking about steel because the
other side feels better about it," he said.
Yet House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi said the Democrats' view is that they cannot resolve the
funding dispute until the government fully opens. She said there had
been progress only in the sense of a "better understanding" of each
other.
Looking for an elusive resolution, Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Trump agreed to designate staff to engage
in negotiations with congressional leadership aides this weekend. Trump
later said the group would "determine what we're going to do about the
border." That group would include Vice President Pence and advisor Jared
Kushner.
The meeting came on the 14th day of the shutdown, which
was triggered by disagreements over the funding of Trump’s promised
wall, after Democrats formally took control of the House of
Representatives. Trump has said that $5 billion in funding for the wall
is non-negotiable, while Democrats have said they will fund more general
border security -- but not the wall.
Trump met with Democratic
and Republican leaders of both chambers. Ahead of the meeting Trump sent
a letter to members of Congress congratulating Pelosi on her election
as speaker and calling on Congress to re-open the government.
“As
we begin this new Congress, our first task should be to reopen the
Government and to deliver on our highest duty as elected officials: the
security of the Nation and its borders," he said. “It is the sovereign
right of every nation to establish an immigration program in its
national interest—lawfully admitting those who have followed the rules,
while denying entry to those who break the rules or fail to meet the
requirements established in law."
As part of his strategy, he made
available to every member a presentation on border security that he
said those present at a meeting Wednesday did not want to hear.
“Americans
have endured decades of broken promises on illegal immigration. Now, is
the time for both parties to rise above the partisan discord, to set
aside political convenience, and to put the national interest first,” he
wrote.
Democrats, meanwhile, passed legislation in the House that
would fund the whole government, but not the wall. Pelosi accused
Republicans of holding government workers hostage for the separate
demand of a wall. "The wall and the government shutdown really have nothing to do with each other," Pelosi said at an MSNBC Town Hall.
"There is no reason to have workers pay a price with their paycheck," she said
The
legislation was immediately dismissed by Republican leadership.
McConnell, R-Ky., called the bills “a time-wasting act of political
posturing” and said that “a resolution will have to be palatable to
House Democrats and Senate Republicans alike.” HOUSE DEMS MOVE TO ELIMINATE ELECTORAL COLLEGE, LIMIT PRESIDENTIAL PARDON POWER AND MORE IN FIRST DAYS BACK
“We need to make policy rather than simply making political theatre,” he told reporters.
White
House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said on "Fox & Friends" earlier
Friday that it would be up to Pelosi to get her party behind her,
including the left flank pushing for impeachment.
“We think we're
hopeful because the people that elected Nancy Pelosi didn't elect her to
come up here and do nothing and didn't elect her to play political
games,” she said. “They elected her to find real solutions and actually
work with the president and work with all members of Congress to get
things done.”
On Thursday night, Pence said on Fox News' “Tucker
Carlson Tonight” that the terms of the negotiations were clear: "Bottom
line, if there's no wall, there's no deal."
The meme that Woods posted in July said #LetWomenDecide and
#NoMenMidterm. Woods acknowledged the tweet was "not likely" real.
(Twitter)
CNN’s Scott Jennings once again took liberals to the cleaners on the Abrego Garcia case, the ‘Maryland man...
