In the days leading up to December 22, 2018, President Donald Trump requested $5.7 billion for a border wall from the newly elected House of Representatives. The House, of which the democratic party had recently gained control, refused. The result was a brutal stalemate that lasted a total of 35 days, the longest government shutdown in US history. Though it has ended, the effects of the shutdown linger.
Federal employees were hit hard. About 800,000 government workers missed two paychecks as of last Friday. Some were forced to take out loans, sell their cars, or even dip into their retirement funds. One out of ten TSA workers called in sick, stating that they could not afford to work unpaid. Fortunately, they received their missed paychecks on Thursday, January 31.
National parks also fell victim to the political standoff. Employees were furloughed, rendering the parks understaffed and with unsupervised visitors pouring in. The parks were severely trashed, littered with garbage, overflowing toilets, and human excrement. Trees destroyed by reckless tourists in Southern California’s Joshua Tree National Park may take up to 300 years to regrow. And, to top it all off, the US economy lost a total of $11 billion — $3 billion of which it will not be able to recover.
On the 35th day, President Trump agreed to sign a short-term spending bill to fund Congress through February 15. This allows for three weeks of negotiations on border security. If the president and congressional leaders cannot come to a resolution within the allotted time, another shutdown will commence, or the Trump administration will consider declaring a national emergency. The latter would likely be challenged in court by House democrats.
Either way, the threat of political chaos looms large as elected officials on both sides of the aisle hold firm on their stance that an open federal government and closed southern borders cannot coexist. So what will politicians choose? And how much more of a toll will it take on our country?
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