The Senate adjourned for the night at 1:30AM Eastern Time on Sunday, January 19, 2018 after a spending measure that would have kept the government operating temporarily was blocked by Senate Democrats. Early the next morning, much of the government shut down.
Moments before the official cease of operations, the Donald Trump's press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted an official statement that blamed the shutdown on the Democrats and more specifically on Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, claiming that Schumer and the Democrats had "put politics above our national security, military families, vulnerable children, and our country's ability to serve all Americans." New York Democrat Nita Lowey countered by claiming that it was "outrageous that... the Majority [Republicans] could not chart a course toward keeping the government open..." her point being that the Republicans, holding a majority in both the House and the Senate were responsible for the mismanagement of the government that led to the shutdown.
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| Construction cones along the sidewalk of the US Capitol Building, January 19, 2018 Photo by Susan Walsh |
Schumer was singled out because he was behind the filibuster that kept the proposal from being called to vote. The unwillingness to pass the spending proposal was fueled in part by unwillingness on both sides to compromise on the DACA immigration policy, and about whether funds should be allocated for building the Mexico-US border wall that Trump has been promising since the beginning of his campaign.
Schumer claims that a resolution was almost reached on the Friday before the Senate filibuster over a lunch between Donald Trump and himself, but that impending agreement was dissolved when Trump and his chief of staff John Kelly demanded further immigration concessions on the Democratic side.
The shutdown ultimately came to a conclusion when Democrats agreed to end the filibuster in exchange for the promise that the Republicans would reopen debate on the DREAM immigration act which Congress failed to pass in 2012.
Discussion Questions:
1. Was it unjustified for Democrats to block the proposal for political reasons at the cost of the nearly 800,000 government employees furloughed? Why or why not?
2. Should Donald Trump be held responsible for his unwillingness to compromise with Schumer? Did his late demand for further concessions ultimately cause the shutdown?
3. Were the Democrats too hasty to withdraw from the position of power, given that they didn't have any real assurance that the Republicans would indeed reopen debate on the DREAM act?
I personally believe that the government shutdown resulted in a little bit of chaos within the government workers, it was all for the right cause. This being due to the fact that the democratic party's main reason for the government shutdown was to get at least a second chance for the DREAM act. If that law was passed within the government it would grant amnesty to young illegal immigrants within our country. These immigrants who know no other country than the US. It would be unjust for the government to send these young immigrants back to a country that they are unfamiliar with. This would put these people at severe disadvantages throughout their entire youth, in a sense giving them no opportunity to do well. After all the democrats only seek to preserve the morals of a country that values freedom and opportunity. Thus, the cost of nearly 800,000 government workers being kept out of work for a few days is not that much in comparison to the chance of helping youth who are just like us.
ReplyDeleteIt was justified for Democrats to block the proposal. With the DACA ending under the Trump administration, 800,000 people who entered the United States illegally at an average age of 6 years old would be deported to a land they have not known since their very early childhood. While many government workers needed to work without pay or could not work during this time, a brief period without pay is incomparable to a decision that could force nearly a million people out of the country.
ReplyDeletePresident Trump himself has previously expressed support for the legalization of DACA recipients and only 10-25% of Americans want to deport them. But despite the overwhelming support for them, the government wants to send them away instead of giving them a path to citizenship. Another interesting note is that President Reagan, a popular president among Republicans, granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants during his presidency.
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/05/us/daca-what-we-know-and-dont-know.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fpolitics&action=click&contentCollection=politics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=search&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=sectionfront
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/us/dreamers-opponents-daca-deal.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fpolitics&action=click&contentCollection=politics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=sectionfront
The republicans own all three branches of government. They knew they didn't have the votes to get this passed and that's why it was disputed for so long. It was premature to to have the voting if they result was going to be a government shutdown. Most democrats and some Republicans didn't want it to pass, if the republican party can't get all their votes I feel it's their responsibility to renegotiate in order to make a deal that keeps both sides happy. It's funny that the shutdown was blamed on the democrats even though the Republicans have the government. If all republicans agreed then it would've passed, so those few republicans should be "blamed" for voting for what they believe in, instead of doing what the rest of the party did.
ReplyDeleteThe DACA immigration policy and DREAM act allows illegal immigrants who came here as young children to continue the lives they've built up over years of hard work, and it is an important institution that affects hundreds of thousands of people that live in and contribute to society. Not only has the government paid for years of their education, but many of them have higher education that allows them to contribute greatly to the economy, and it is really in America's best interest to keep these often very young people here to continue on the path they've carved for themselves. Because of these reasons and more, I don"t believe it was unjust for the Democrats to block the proposal, they had no other means to stop it from being passed, as the Republicans have a majority in the senate and house, and they were unwilling to compromise. While it does cost millions of dollars to shut down the government, and didn't create an ideal situation, Republicans should at least be open to negotiations and actually schedule votes.
ReplyDeleteThe government shutdown came about because of the lack of partisanship in our government today. Our utter inability to compromise or work together has led to this debacle, and it will likely lead to many more. But what can be done? Should we as Americans abandon our morals and principles in the name of cooperation, like letting construction begin on a wall that is likely to be dangerous to US-Mexico relations, the widespread xenophobia within our country, hundreds of wild species, and our national budget? Abandon the DREAMers that, like Jennifer said, came here through no fault of their own? Or is it wiser to stick to our guns and create an impassable political staIemate? I do not think that any one person, like Chuck Schumer, can be singled out for this shudown, rather the political atmosphere in this country of surrounding ourselves with people who share our opinion and ignoring the "opposition" is to blame. If we don't rectify that first, no amount of compromise will last.
ReplyDeleteWhile yes, nearly 800,000 government employees will not be payed for one day, this does not compare to the pain felt by those effected by the DACA program. These people did not choose to go to the United States illegally, so they have not committed any crimes. Also, they have grown up in the United States, learned its culture, and made friends there. How are they expected to be deported back to their old countries. This solution is supported by the majority of the people, the majority of the government, and apparently the president. So why isn't this being passed?
ReplyDeleteYes, President Trump should be held responsible for this government shutdown. There was a bipartisan plan on the table that compromised between both sides. This bill would not have been permanent, but it would have avoided the shutdown. Yet, "President" Donald Trump had to throw a temper tantrum and keep this act from passing through, even though he agreed with it???
While the Democrats may have been a bit too hasty withdrawing from the position of power, their position was coming at a cost and holding out any longer may have led to further issues. While there is no guarantee that debate will go well, not having a terrible bill on the table and eventually having the discussion is good enough for now.
While the end result is disruptive, the reasoning is completely justified by president Trump's non cooperation. This gives a perfect reason for the democrats actions, and is also why they should have kept perusing what they knew to be fully the right and only action to make. This makes the democrats actions justified, and I believe that they should have continued the shutdown of the government, as the 800,000 lives without pay is of a lesser effect than the most likely millions of possible people suffering under the removal of the dream act.
ReplyDeleteI think the democrats made every right move in hopefully securing that the Republicans will open again on the DREAM act. The people who qualify for the DREAM act were only small children when they entered the US. A two year old, for example, simply does not make a decision on whether or not to immigrate to another country, especially illegally - that is the choice of the parent, therefore the child should not suffer the consequences of the action that was carried out by their parent, not them. Why isn't this the topic of conversation? So no, I don't think the Democrats withdrew to hastily. Republicans were avoiding the topic, so any chance the Democrats got to make it the topic of conversation, they were going to take - and rightfully so.
ReplyDeletePresident Donald Trump is held responsible for the unwillingness of compromising with Senator Schumer because he tried ending DACA which causes Schumer to denying his vote to agreeing with Trump and other republicans. I believe it was need to shut down the government over this disagreement because it lead to reopening the Dream Immigration act, which will help the DACA Program.
ReplyDelete