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Erica Werner
A Congressional Journalist Interest in Economic Policy
President Trump and the Leading Democrats Prepare for a Clash Wednesday Before Their First Meeting face to face of several weeks, while the president made a series of false statements and that the Democrats promised to use the rally of the White House to repel the failures.
While the government was shutting down during the second week, Trump did not seem to want to break his $ 5.6 billion taxpayer demand for money to build 200 km of wall along the US-Mexican border.
His comments, many of which were inaccurate or exaggerated, certainly seemed to aggravate the political stalemate that had caused the closure of about a quarter of the federal government just before Christmas.
He stated, for example, that there were between 30 and 35 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, about three times more than most experts think. [19659007] "The United States needs a physical barrier," Trump said at a meeting with his cabinet on Wednesday.
The Democrats prepared for the White House meeting by stating that they were not planning to receive lectures on inaccurate information and that they would continue to challenge the president.
"It is not common for the president to hear people telling him when he is wrong. The Democrats intend to do it today, "Justin Goodman, spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (DN.Y.), said Wednesday morning.
In a Twitter post on Wednesday morning, Trump made two false statements about the wall, pursuing a series of inaccurate statements about who would pay for the wall's development and how much had already been built.
He wrote that Mexico would pay for the wall located along the US border under a trade agreement that it has provisionally signed. with Mexico and Canada. This is not true.
This agreement has not been approved by Congress, which means that the pact's parameters are not in force. And even if the trade agreement were approved, it would not create a flow of money for the construction of a border wall.
The second misspelling of Trump's Wednesday message on Twitter is his statement that "much of the wall has already been completely renovated or built. "
This is not true either. The US-Mexico border is about 2,000 miles long. The $ 5.6 billion requested by Trump would fund about 200 miles of wall, and less than 100 miles have already been built or renovated, according to officials from the Department of Homeland Security.
The closure began after the rejection of bipartisan congress efforts to finance many operations. until 8 February, insisting that any agreement must contain funds for the construction of a border wall. His request irritated many Republicans who were working to avoid a stop, but most have followed his example and insist that the Democrats negotiate a compromise.
While the partial stop was entering its 12th day of Wednesday, hundreds of thousands of officials. stayed home on leave, while hundreds of thousands of others considered "essential" came to work but were not sure of being paid. The impacts multiplied, with the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington closing its doors to visitors and chaotic scenes taking place in the country's national parks, closing them unattended, their toilets closed and their trash bins overflowing.
[How is the federal government shutdown affecting your day-to-day life? Tell The Post.]
the shutdown could create pressure on all parties to reach a resolution. But Trump's false claims could lead senior Democratic officials to attend an information meeting at the White House on Wednesday afternoon to address the rally with more apprehension and skepticism than they are. already promising, partly because the White House said that this meeting was supposed to serve as a way for Democrats. to learn more about the situation at the US-Mexico border.
Schumer and the new Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Are due to visit Trump at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, with the Democrats remaining united in their opposition to the extension. taxpayer money to finance a wall on the Mexican border. The meeting takes place one day before Democrats regain control of the House on Thursday at noon, heralding a massive power shift in Washington after two years of unified Republican control.
Democratic counselors downplayed their expectations for the three o'clock in the afternoon.
The Democrats noted that Trump had repeatedly promised during his visit to the White House, saying that the latter being presented as a "briefing" and not a meeting, they were prepared for a unilateral presentation and non-factual. his campaign and earlier in his presidency that Mexico would pay for the wall, not the American taxpayers. But all the proposals of the Wall and Republicans to build the wall are based on federal funds and do not propose any scenario providing for the repayment of these funds by the Mexican government.
Last week, Trump wrote in an article on Twitter. that he had personally approved a contract for the construction of an additional 115 km of wall along the Mexican border, but the White House has not provided more details or explained what he is talking about.
The last time Schumer and Pelosi met Trump at The White House on December 11th, it turned into a quaint TV feud during which Trump asserted that he would be "proud" to close the government over the wall and insisted that he take possession of any closure. Since the partial closure began on December 22, Trump has tried to call it a "Schumer closure."
Wednesday afternoon's meeting should be different, at least publicly. It takes place in the secure "crisis room" of the White House and the media will not be invited to follow part of it, according to the White House.
Trump's meeting with congressional leaders was to follow Trump's. first Cabinet meeting of the year. Traditionally, senior administration officials have used these rallies to revise their agenda for the year, but Trump has taken advantage of the open meeting portion of the media to continue to demand the same. money for the wall of borders. Other issues may be debated. At the meeting, Reuters reported spotting a large poster on the table evoking possible tariffs on imports from China.
During the period during which journalists were allowed to attend the meeting, Trump also tried to rule out the poor performance of the stock market last year, calling it a "glitch" that will be canceled this year after the conclusion of new trade agreements.
So far, Trump has blamed stock market performance within the Federal Reserve, while many investors have said that the stock market has fallen. strongly because of Trump's decision to unleash a trade war and its unpredictable movements in the economy. Nobody raised the possibility of a technical error, or a problem, at the origin of the sale.
Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump told voters that drugs, criminals and terrorists were invading the United States across Mexico. border. He said that he would build a concrete wall, a height of 30 feet in most places, to prevent people from entering. He also promised voters, again and again, that Mexico would pay for the wall. Since he became president, however, he changed his promise, saying that this money had to come from US taxpayers.
Democrats have been willing to approve $ 1.3 billion for border security, in line with existing spending levels, some of which can be used to replace and repair existing sections of wall and Closing. But they decided the question of the use of taxpayer money for the erection of a new wall
Despite the far-reaching consequences of the closure, much of the federal government has not been affected. Major agencies such as the Pentagon and the Department of Health and Human Services have already been funded until the end of the fiscal year on September 30, thanks to the spending bills passed earlier by Congress and signed by Trump.
Unfunded and stop-and-go services include the Department of Homeland Security, which pays for the wall, as well as the departments of agriculture, justice, the interior, transportation, and the public service. State and housing. NASA is also partially closed, as is the National Park Service and a range of smaller agencies.
Some 800,000 federal government employees are affected, including about 350,000 who have been laid off while others remain at their workplace wondering if they will end up ending up. Get paid. In previous judgments, Congress had approved the retroactive payment once the impasse resolved.
Democrats in the House plan to pass legislation to quickly end the market shutdown – but without offering the $ 5 billion Trump wants for its wall – as soon as they take control on Thursday. afternoon. They plan to pass two bills: one to fund the Homeland Security Department at current levels until February 8, which would maintain $ 1.3 billion in funding as a barrier to border; and the other to fund the rest of the government until September 30, at levels negotiated bipartisanly in the Senate.
This would allow Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) To send a message to Trump. bill to reopen most of the government, while setting aside the fight for the wall. But Trump's answer is uncertain, and McConnell's current position is that he will not send any legislation that he will not sign to the president.
The current closure is the longest since a 16-day partial closure in 2013 under the Affordable Care Act. .
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