‘Wrong track’: Public sours on nation’s direction after shutdown

Sixty-three percent of Americans say the nation is on the wrong track, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

WASHINGTON — After the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history, six-in-10 Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, and nearly 70 percent of them have negative opinions on the state of the nation today, according to the latest national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

“Wrong track,” “disarray,” “turmoil,” “polarized,” “concerned,” “shambles” and “declining” were some of the answers given by respondents asked to sum up their feelings on the state of America.

“Times are grim,” said Democratic pollster Peter Hart, who conducted this survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff. “The shutdown is front and center.”

View the complete January 27 article by Mark Murray on the NBC News website here.

Republicans distance themselves from shutdown tactics

Senate Republicans on Sunday described the freshly ended 35-day partial government shutdown as an ineffective and harmful tactic deployed to secure funding for President Trump’s proposed wall along the southern border.

Fresh off a Friday vote to reopen the government for three weeks, lawmakers described the shutdown as an exercise in futility that harmed Americans, and expressed optimism lawmakers could hammer out a legislative compromise in the next three weeks.

“Shutdowns are never good policy, ever,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “They are never to be used as a means to achieve any kind of goal no matter how important that goal may seem to be.”

U.S. Economy Lost An Estimated $6 Billion To Shutdown, S&P Says

The president had demanded $5.7 billion to fulfill his long-promised project to build a wall on the southern border.

A global ratings agency has estimated that the recent partial government shutdown cost the U.S. economy at least $6 billion, according to a Reuters report.

Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings announced on Friday that its estimation is based on productivity loss from furloughed workers and economic activity loss to outside business, according to the news agency.

“Although this shutdown has ended, little agreement on Capitol Hill will likely weigh on business confidence and financial market sentiments,” the company said in a statement.

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

I wish people would read or listen to my words on the Border Wall. This was in no way a concession. It was taking care of millions of people who were getting badly hurt by the Shutdown with the understanding that in 21 days, if no deal is done, it’s off to the races!

147K people are talking about this

View the complete January 26 article by Kimberley Richards on the Huffington Post website here.

REALITY CHECK: Trump Admin Once Again Writes Off Workers Hurt By The Shutdown

At the press briefing today, Trump’s top economic advisor once again wrote off the concerns of workers hurt by the Trump Shutdown, lied about the significant damage it did to the economy, and suggested that Trump could shut down the government again.

Larry Kudlow said “I honestly don’t know” if the White House supports back pay for contractors.

REALITY: Federal contractors across the country have been devastated by the effects of the Trump Shutdown.

“The estimate of what I’ve lost financially due to the shutdown is upwards of $3,500. The anxiety, sleeplessness and depression make it feel like much more.” – Federal contractor

“While I love being a contractor, I hate the uncertainty that’s come with it. This happened to us last year on a smaller scale, but this year’s shutdown has me concerned for my future and welfare.” – Federal contractor

“We were scraping pennies and nickels together one day to get the baby a Happy Meal. It’s just that bad.” – Federal contractor

Larry Kudlow: “The switch goes back on. No permanent damage to the economy.”

REALITY: Federal workers are struggling from the lasting impacts of the shutdown – which permanently cost the economy $3 billion.

Federal worker who had to pay a 10% penalty to tap into his retirement funds during the shutdown: “It pretty much just pushes my family back.”

“I’m a little nervous after missing 30 plus days… It’s been almost a month since we’ve gotten paid.” – Federal worker

“Morale is slowly decreasing every day. It’s really hard for controllers to maintain 100 percent awareness when they’re thinking about mortgage payments and child care payments.” – Federal worker

Larry Kudlow on Trump shutting down the government again in three weeks: “We’ll see what happens.”

REALITY: Workers still reeling from the 35-day Trump Shutdown are stressed about Trump shutting the government down again.

“They’re throwing us a rope. They’ll throw us that rope, we’ll catch it, and in a few weeks, they’re just going to pull it from us again.” – Federal worker

“That just means that we’ll be fighting again in three weeks for the same thing.” – Federal worker

“It feels like we are still hostages. I’m just so happy to be going back to work and to be able to get on with our lives because I need our health insurance to fill these prescriptions. But who knows if this will all happen again in three weeks.” – Federal contractor

Trump Is Ready To Do It All Over Again

Trump is responsible for the longest government shutdown in history. And now he is threatening to do it all over again.

After shutting down the government for 35 days, and then caving to demands he reopen it, Trump is threatening to do it again to get his unpopular, unnecessary, and ineffective border wall.

NBC News: “President Trump issued a threat of another government shutdown if there isn’t a ‘fair deal’ from Congress on a border wall.”

Washington Post: “Renewing his threats, the president insisted Congress must give him wall funding or risk another government shutdown in three weeks — or a declaration of a national emergency that would allow him to circumvent Congress and use the military to build the wall.” Continue reading “Trump Is Ready To Do It All Over Again”

CBO: Trump Shutdown Cost The Economy $3 Billion That We’ll Never Get Back

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office confirmed today that the Trump Shutdown did significant damage to our economy.

The CBO estimates that the 35-day Trump Shutdown cost the U.S. economy $11 billion, with $3 billion permanently lost.

CNBC: “The federal government shutdown cost the economy $11 billion, according to a new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Although most of the damage to the economy will be reversed as the government re-opens and workers return to their jobs, the CBO estimated $3 billion in economic activity is permanently lost.”

‘Have I not been clear about the wall?’ Pelosi signals Trump still won’t get what he wants

Credit: Tom Williams, CQ Roll Call

Three weeks of negotiations not likely to result in a Trump-friendly agreement on border wall funding

ANALYSIS — It took 35 days, but President Donald Trump ultimately caved to Democratic demands that he reopen the government before they’d entertain negotiations on border security. And in 21 more, Trump will have to decide whether to give in again, because he’s not likely to get what he wants.

Trump agreed Friday to back a three-week continuing resolution that will reopen the government through Feb. 15. But he is not giving up on his quest to secure funding for wall along the southern border.

“We really have no choice but to build a powerful wall or steel barrier,” Trump said as he concluded remarks from the Rose Garden announcing the deal to temporarily reopen government. “If we don’t get a fair deal from Congress, the government will either shut down on Feb. 15 again or I will use the powers afforded to me under the laws and the Constitution of the United States to address this emergency.”

View the complete January 25 article by Lindsey McPherson on The Roll Call website here.

Shutdown ends but its damage will last

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-NY Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

CQ Homeland Security Editor Patrick B. Pexton discusses the details of the deal between President Donald Trump and lawmakers to end the shutdown. Max Stier, president of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, says it has done lasting damage to the civil service and that Congress must never allow it to happen again.

Trump agrees to end shutdown without getting wall funding

President Trump said Friday he will back a short-term funding bill to reopen the government that does not include funds to construct a wall along the southern border, bowing to mounting pressure fueled by growing disruption due to the lengthy shutdown.

“I am very proud to announce today that we have reached a deal to end the shutdown and reopen the federal government,” Trump said.

The deal, announced by Trump from the Rose Garden of the White House, amounts to a victory for Democrats who have refused the president’s demand for $5.7 billion in wall funding. Trump had said for weeks he would not reopen the government without that money.

The measure Trump will sign funds the government through Feb. 15 and the president said he would use that period to extract wall funding from lawmakers. A bipartisan committee of House and Senate lawmakers will meet to develop a funding proposal for border security, including physical barriers separating the U.S. from Mexico, according to the president.

View the complete January 25 article by Jordan Fabian and Brett Samuels on The Hill website here.

DNC on Shutdown Deal

DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement after leaders in Washington reached an agreement to reopen the government that does not include funding for a border wall:

“What was the point of all the pain that Donald Trump inflicted on federal workers? What was the point of the missed paychecks, the long lines at food banks, the chaos at our airports, and the sick children without health care? The longest shutdown in American history was avoidable, unnecessary, and disastrous for the country. And the American people know exactly who’s to blame: Donald Trump.

“Thanks to the steadfast leadership of Democrats in Congress, hundreds of thousands of American workers will finally have a reprieve from the suffering Donald Trump has caused. Democrats have been prepared to work on a border security bill from the start of this ordeal; our leaders offered multiple proposals to keep the government open, including a strong bipartisan solution passed by voice vote in the Senate. And yet, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress failed to do their jobs for 35 days. The American people will hold them accountable, and Democrats will fight tooth and nail to prevent a shutdown from happening again.”