OPINION:
The Republican-led Senate, no doubt concerned with the politics of a government shutdown and the media-generated storm that would come, sent a stopgap funding measure to the House absent President Donald Trump’s requested $5 billion for a border wall.
That’s called: Putting the squeeze on Trump.
If Republicans in the House pass it, sending the measure to the president’s desk, Trump will then have to decide: Do I sign the bill to keep the government running? Or do I do what I said I would do — shut down the government over border wall funding?
This is the president who, after all, just a few days ago declared he’d be “proud” to shut down the government to win border wall money.
This is the president who, after all, ran for the high office in 2015-2016 on a moral message of the need to secure borders — including building a border wall.
It was his key campaign promise. And now Republicans have run for cover, leaving Trump, once again, alone.
As Republican Rep. Mark Meadows said, Trump supporters “believe [border wall funding is] a promise that he’s been telling them that he will keep.”
Quite right.
This continuing resolution only kicks the matter down the road — to February, in fact, when Congress will then again have to take up a bill to fund government operations.
So here’s the situation: If the House passes the measure and Trump signs it, conservatives — and rightly so — will wonder, what’s up with that, Mr. President? If the House passes the bill and Trump doesn’t sign it, the media, the left, the Republicans who did support it in Congress will scream “off with his head” for forcing a government shutdown.
Democrats will win on message once again. Republicans in the House and Senate will finger-point once again.
The White House, through Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said in the lead-up to the Senate vote that “at the end of the day, we don’t want to shut down the government — we want to shut down the border.”
Yes; but Senate Republicans aren’t helping. They’re booting the can. They’re not fighting as hard as they could — as they should.
“I’m sorry that my Democratic colleagues couldn’t put partisanship aside and show the same good-faith flexibility that the president has shown in order to provide the resources our nation needs to secure the integrity of our borders and the safety of American families,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement. “But this seems to be the reality of our political moment.”
Another reality?
Another reality is that come January, the House will be led by Democrats. Where will be the border funding then?
Sen. Ted Cruz nailed the optics of the situation, in a series of tweets.
“The American people gave us a clear mandate: secure the border and build the wall,” Cruz wrote.
And this: “Unfortunately, this continuing resolution fails to reflect these priorities by not sufficiently securing the border. This is a missed opportunity to deliver on the promises made to the American people.”
And this — sure to anger the Trump base: “Further, this bill continues to fund sanctuary cities, which are defying the law and making Americans less safe.”
The border wall issue is pretty cut and dry — at least for Trump. He’s the one who said he was going to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it. He’s the guy the American people believed would actually bring to fruition this long-needed wall.
If only he’d get some help from his own Republicans in Congress, maybe this border could finally be secured. Because come January, border wall funding is going to be a lot tougher to get.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.
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