Chuck Schumer

The US Government today have shut down officially, but the questions people keep asking is, What does this mean? 

The government shutdown, now called "The Trump Shut down" is happening because Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans and the US President Donald Trump could not make a deal on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows undocumented immigrants brought into the US, remain in the country without fear of deportation.

                 

The DACA program protects around 800,000 around the US, and Trump is looking to shut down the program after it expires in March 5.

While the Republicans are looking for a short term funding bill to allow further dialogue on the immigration policy, the Democrats, sees it as throwing away their leverage, and hence resulted in a standoff, causing the US government shutdown.

Who Has The Blame On Shutdown

Trump has been one person that has criticized his predecessor in multiples interview in the past, saying that any shut down is caused by the US government, because he owe it to the country to come to an agreement between his lawmakers to prevent any government shutdown..

Now come 2018, Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats have both been playing the blame game, with Trump calling the shutdown, "The Schumer shutdown", while Senator Chuck Schumer is calling it "The Trump Shutdown"

What Will Happen During Shutdown

This will see to the closure of Federal offices, and employees will stay at home. Essential services like the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and most military operations will continue working, and will not be shut down.

The last shutdown was in 2013 after Senate Republicans oppose spending bill for the new healthcare law, hence freezing the government for 16 days.

Government shutdown will result in the loss of billions of dollars.

According to a S & P report, the shutdown could cost the US government 6.5 Billion per week.

 

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Former president Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, is causing a standoff in the US Congress, and might lead to a government shutdown in 2 days if both Republicans and Democrats do not come back to a negotiation table.

                  

The Republicans who had supported the bill arenow tossing it.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday, said that the congress would only be a spinning wheel if it voted for DACA and President Trump is not willing, and won't sign it. McConnell said; "I’m looking for something that President Trump supports and he’s not yet indicated what measure he’s willing to sign. As soon as we figure out what he is for then I would be convinced that we were not just spinning our wheels going to this issue on the floor."

President Trump in his meeting with a few members of Congress indicated that if the Democrats wants DACA deal, they must be ready to include the US-Mexico border wall to the spending bill, a move that Democrats reject, even though President Trump in his election promises had told the voters that Mexico will pay for the wall along the border.

Another twist on the wall happened on Wednesday when the White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly told the Congressional Hispanic Caucus that the promise of Trump building a wall on the Southern border shows he is uninformed, and said that the White House is no longer pursuing the US-Mexico wall policy.

Kelly also said that some areas in the border does not need a wall, and Trump probably did not know that.

A government shutdown looms in the US Congress, and might happen as early as Friday. If this happens, according to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, it is the Republican responsibility because they control the House, and also the White House.

Democrats have vowed that it will not support a spending deal, without the DACA protection.

The DACA deal would have given 690,000 DREAMers- undocumented  people who had entered the US illegally as kids a path to citizenship. Last September, Trump said he will look to cancel the program, after it expires in March 5.

Republicans are working to keep the government afloat to Mid-February with short-term funding, but it will also need the support of nine Democrats to pass the bill. To be able to cajole the Democrats in supporting the short-term funding, and prevent a total government shutdown, Republicans are offering a six year extension to the Children’s Health Insurance Program -CHIP, a program that subsidized health insurance for kids of low income family, which is supposed to lapse in September, also Congress has now approved some funding that will keep the program going till end of the year.

Democrats will now have to choose to keep CHIP for now, or refused to end and cause a full government shut down. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is saying that there is no going to be a deal if DACA are CHIP are not included.

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Jeff Sessions, Attorney General of the United States is in a scandal in the Trump's administration, after he was found to have met with a top Russian diplomat twice, and had failed to mention that during his confirmation hearing in the senate before his confirmation. Sessions had met the same person Michael Flynn met with that caused him his position in Donald Trump's cabinet.

Top democrats, including Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have asked that he resigned from his position.

While speaking to reporters, Chuck said;

Last night when I read the revelations ... and his decision to mislead Congress without those contacts, I felt a knot in the pit of my stomach.

The information reported last night makes it clear, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Attorney General Sessions cannot possibly lead an investigation ... with these revelations, he may very well become the subject of it.

While he would have needed all the help he could get from Republicans, several Republicans have asked him instead to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia inquiries.

The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Jason Chaffetz said, Sessions should further clarify his testimony. Also, another Republican and a friend of Session, Rob Portman of Ohio said; Jeff Sessions is a former colleague and a friend, but I think it would be best for him & for the country to recuse himself from the DOJ Russia probe.

Jeff Sessions had met with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador, known in the US intelligence circle as a top Russian spy and spy-recruiters in Washington.

Sessions met with Kislyak in July while at the Republican convention, and also met him in September in his office when Sessions was a member of the Senate Armed Services committee.

Attorney General Sessions Recused Himself From Trump-Russia Inquiry

Jeff Sessions have now removed himself from the investigations of Trump-Russia inquiry after backlash about his senate hearing where he denied meeting with any Russia officials.

In a news conference on Thursday, Sessions said that Justice Department staff recommended that he recuses himself from further investigation related to the Trump campaign. He said;

I feel like I should not be involved in investigating a campaign I had a role in

Sessions also defended his answer to Democratic Sen. Al Franken's question to him, he said that he had "focused (his) answer on" whether he met the official in his role as a campaign surrogate, not his position as a then-senator. In retrospect, I should have slowed down and said I did meet with one official a couple of times and that was the Russian ambassador.

Sessions Get Suport From Donald Trump

The US President went on Twitter to defend his friend, Jeff Session and accused the Democrats of "overplaying their hand"

            

           

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