Donald Trump’s childish demand for an ineffective and unnecessary border wall, which suddenly became a humanitarian crisis just as Democrats took over the House and bombshells around the Mueller investigation began dropping on a daily basis, has left nearly a million American workers in dire straits.
A bipartisan group of senators plan to send a letter to POTUS today requesting he support a short-term CR that will reopen the gov for 3 wks while they continue negotiations. @Axios was leaked draft text of the letter, which was first pubbed by @politico https://t.co/rSmySNjlDs
— Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) January 16, 2019
In order to address that, a bipartisan group of senators is drafting a letter to send to Trump with a goal of having 20 in each party sign off. The letter is being drafted by Susan Collins(R-ME), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Rob Portman (R-OH) as Democrats Joe Manchin (D-WV), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Chris Coons (D-DE).
According to POLITICO:
‘The senators are aiming to send the letter to the president as soon as Wednesday, and more than a dozen senators in both parties are expected to sign on. It would put in writing a commitment to take up his request for billions more in border security money as a condition of Trump opening the government for a short period, a gambit the president has rejected in the past.’
The White House doesn't want senators to sign a bipartisan letter to end shutdown, sources say https://t.co/yxWtqNHEVN
— Steve Donaldson (@SD981) January 16, 2019
While the effort is well-intended, it’s unlikely to move forward. With opposition from the White House and Trump’s most sycophantic cronies in Congress, even a temporary resolution appears to be impossible.
‘The effort is a long-shot. Key Republicans aren’t signing on, suggesting that the group will fall short of bipartisan hopes of getting as many as 20 senators in each party to endorse the missive to the president.
One Republican, Sen. Shelley Moore (WV), said she doesn’t have “any objection to the letter at all. I’m just not going to sign.”
NEW: Democratic senators send letter to Pres. Trump urging him to meet with federal workers affected by government shutdown: "If you heard directly from them, it would be clear that there is no such thing as a good government shutdown." https://t.co/sq8qF19FXi pic.twitter.com/r7AbHYqtBH
— ABC News (@ABC) January 15, 2019
The letter is intended to provide at least a short period of relief for federal workers who are either furloughed or still working, but without pay. Some are struggling to keep their homes, pay their bills, prevent their credit from being destroyed, and even purchase medications for their children.
A leaked draft of the letter showed that it said:
‘We believe that such requests deserve consideration, through regular order, a process we support…to give Congress time to develop and vote on a bipartisan agreement that addresses your request. We commit to working to advance legislation that can pass the Senate with substantial bipartisan support.’
@SenToomey @realDonaldTrump My letter to my Senators to end the #Trumptantrum shutdown. pic.twitter.com/qS3y5Wa6mc
— Pat Clark (@PatC0315) January 16, 2019
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
