Column: Republican Senator addresses government shutdown
President Donald Trump issued orders for a partial government shutdown on December 22. These came after Congressional disagreements regarding the Trump administration’s plans to construct a border wall along the southern region of the United States.
As of January 21, the shutdown remains in effect with no reported progress from Washington. Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina released an official statement on January 10, regarding the partial government shutdown and the Trump administration plan for a border wall.
Graham said, “Speaker Pelosi’s refusal to negotiate on funding for a border wall/barrier -- even if the government were to be reopened -- virtually ends the congressional path to funding for a border wall/barrier.”
“It is time for President Trump to use emergency powers to fund the construction of a border wall/barrier,” he continued. “I hope it works.”
The following day, January 11, Graham released another statement.
“I just met with President Trump and his team,” said Graham. “It’s clear to both of us that Democrats don’t want to make a deal and will never support border wall/barriers on President Trump’s watch, even though they did so in the past.
“They hate President Trump more than they want to fix problems — even problems they acknowledged to be real and serious in the past,” insisted Graham. “Democrats will do everything in their power to defeat Trump in 2020.”
“Mr. President, declare a national emergency now,” he implored. “Build a wall now.”
Graham is calling on Trump to immediately build the border wall that the Trump administration proclaims will be a definite action from its early campaign days. The government shutdown, coupled with inconsistency in official statements regarding its necessity, has raised questions regarding the true motivation for constructing a border wall.
Is the Trump administration refusing insight into more effective ways of monitoring immigration? Is the border situation truly a national emergency? Has the political climate shifted?
Eligible voters for the upcoming 2020 Presidential Election must gather unbiased facts and devote attention to the events in our country during this time and during the coming year.
Columns written by editors and writers of Pacer Times do not necessarily reflect the opinion of staff members or leadership. Letters to the editor may be emailed to Editor-in-Chief Cecilia Maddox at cmy@usca.edu, and will be published at the editorial staff’s discretion.
