11/29/2018
FOX’s Chad Pergram says there could be a possibly government shutdown and explains why on today’s ‘Speaker’s Lobby’:
I’m Chad Pergram with the Speaker’s Lobby.
There could be a partial government shutdown on December 8th. The flash point is President Trump’s border wall in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill.
Republicans lose control of the House in January. A December standoff over the wall is why Republicans view this as the last chance to secure wall funding.
Offstage, there are conversations about potential attachments to a spending bill. Provisions to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from firing. Emergency aid to help California and the Carolinas recover after devastating wildfires and hurricanes.
The House defeated legislation twice this year which provided wall money, but also offered a path to citizenship for some DACA recipients. The message? Blocking what some conservatives regard as “amnesty” is more important than the border wall.
There’s a lot of pressure on the President to make good on his campaign promise of a border wall and tempt a shutdown. Or is President Trump willing to take half a loaf and say he secured a “down payment on the wall?”
That tees up a fight with House Democrats next year.
After all, Mr. Trump needs a foil. Fighting with Democrats over the wall as he nears the 2020 presidential campaign..could be good politics for the President.
With the Speaker’s Lobby, Chad Pergram, FOX News.
Follow Chad on Twitter: @ChadPergram
