President Trump on Sunday asserted that he works “more hours than almost any past president.”

“The media was able to get my work schedule, something very easy to do, but it should have been reported as a positive, not negative,” Trump tweeted. “When the term Executive Time is used, I am generally working, not relaxing. In fact, I probably work more hours than almost any past President.”

He continued: “The fact is, when I took over as President, our Country was a mess. Depleted Military, Endless Wars, a potential War with North Korea, V.A., High Taxes & too many Regulations, Border, Immigration & HealthCare problems, & much more. I had no choice but to work very long hours!”

The tweets come days after Axios published the more than fifty presidential daily schedules it had obtained from an unnamed White House source.

The schedules revealed that, in the days since the 2018 midterm elections, “Trump has spent around 60% of his scheduled time…in unstructured ‘Executive Time.’” 

Axios also noted those hours are typically taken in the morning and spent “in the residence, watching TV, reading the papers, and responding to what he sees and reads by phoning aides, members of Congress, friends, administration officials and informal advisers.” 




Source Article from https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/02/10/trump-i-had-no-choice-but-to-work-very-long-hours/23666175/

A key Republican involved in the negotiations over a border security deal said talks are at a stalemate with the deadline to avert another government shutdown fast approaching.

“I think the talks are stalled right now. I’m hoping we can get off the dime later today or in the morning because time is ticking away, but we got some problems with the Democrats dealing with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], that is detaining criminals that come into the U.S. And they want a cap on them, we don’t want a cap on that,” Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said during an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”

Shelby is among the bipartisan group of lawmakers working to reach agreement on a border security deal before Friday, when funding for a slew of government agencies will lapse again. A 35-day partial government shutdown ended late last month after President Trump signed a stopgap measure.

A point of contention for congressional negotiators is funding for a wall along the southern border, for which Trump wants $5.7 billion. Democrats are opposed to the demand.

The two sides have also reached a stalemate over immigrant detention beds that Immigration and Customs Enforcement can use. Democrats want to cap funding for the beds while Republicans oppose the restrictions. In order for an illegal immigrant to be detained there must be a bed for them, and a cap on beds would limit the number of detentions.

Lawmakers working on the deal huddled at Camp David this weekend for further talks with acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, though Shelby and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who is also working on the border deal, indicated another shutdown is possible.

“I’m not positive we will end up with a deal, but with this group of people and the folks from the House, I think we are going to end up with something that deals with detention beds, with barriers, with technology, with the challenges we have on the southern border in a commonsense way,” Tester, who joined Shelby on “Fox News Sunday, said. “Chairman Shelby is correct, time is of the essence. We need to move forward, we need to keep our eyes on this but I’m very hopeful, not positive, but very hopeful we can come to an agreement.”

Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who invited lawmakers to Camp David this weekend to work on a deal, would not rule out another government shutdown.

“The president has to sign a piece of legislation in order to keep the government open. He cannot sign everything they put in front of him. There will be some things that simply we couldn’t agree to,” Mulvaney said on “Fox News Sunday.” “So the government shutdown is technically still on the table. We do not want it to come to that, but that option is still open to the president and will remain so.”

Shelby, meanwhile, said there is a “50-50” chance they reach an agreement, and noted Monday is effectively a deadline for lawmakers in terms of moving legislation through the House and Senate before funding lapses Friday.

“I’m not confident we’re going to get there,” he said.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/richard-shelby-on-border-deal-talks-are-stalled-right-now

Embattled Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam on Sunday vowed to remain in office because “there’s no better person” to help the state “heal” from the multitude of scandals rocking its leadership than a doctor with his medical school credentials.

In the same interview with “CBS This Morning,” Northam, whose medical school yearbook page featured one person in blackface and another in a KKK robe, suggested that Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax should resign if the two sexual-assault allegations leveled against him are proven true.

Northam also intimated that the state’s Democratic attorney general, Mark Herring, should consider stepping aside because he admitted to dressing in blackface in college.

“I’m a leader,” Northam told host Gayle King. “I’ve been in some very difficult situations, life-and-death situations, taking care of sick children. Right now, Virginia needs someone that can heal. There’s no better person to do that than a doctor.”

FAIRFAX: CALL IN THE FBI TO INVESTIGATE SEX ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS, RIGHT NOW

Northam continued: “Virginia also needs someone who is strong, who has empathy, who has courage, and who has a moral compass. That’s why I’m not going anywhere. I have learned from this. I have a lot more to learn.”

The blackface photograph reportedly was leaked earlier this month by a “concerned citizen” unhappy with Northam’s comments on a local radio show that endorsed post-birth abortions in certain instances.

In an awkward moment, Northam attempted to explain to King that he was sensitive to Virginia’s racist history.

“We are now at the 400-year anniversary — just 90 miles from here in 1619, the first indentured servants from Africa landed on our shores in Old Point Comfort, what we call now Fort Monroe –” Northam began.

King interrupted: “Also known as slavery.”

“Virginia needs someone that can heal. There’s no better person to do that than a doctor.”

— Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam

Northam went on to assert that Fairfax, the next in line in Virginia’s order of succession to the governorship, may need to step aside. Fairfax was hit with a second allegation of sexual assault last Friday, just days after he was accused of assaulting a separate woman at the Democratic National Convention in 2004.

FAIRFAX SUGGESTS NORTHAM TEAM MIGHT BE BEHIND LEAKED SEX ASSAULT ALLEGATION

Fairfax denied the newest allegation as well, labeling it “demonstrably false,” but the claim swiftly inspired calls for Fairfax to resign. Multiple 2020 presidential hopefuls, including Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Corey Booker, D-N.J., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., demanded he step down.

“I can only imagine that it must take tremendous courage for women to step forward and talk about these things, that are just so hurtful,” Northam said. ” And these accusations are very, very serious. And they need to be taken seriously. Gov. Fairfax has called for an investigation. We need to get to the truth. The truth is important. If these accusations are determined to be true, I don’t think he’s going to have any other option but to resign.”

Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax has faced two separate accusations of sexual assault. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

Last week, Fairfax, when asked by a reporter, did not rule out the possibility that Northam might have been behind the leak of the first allegation, in an effort to derail his possible ascension to the governorship.

The Collective Political Action Committee (PAC), which says on its website that it works “to fix the challenge of African American underrepresentation in elected seats of power throughout our nation,” issued a statement on Monday charging it had “learned through various sources that Governor Northam’s team and advisors have now decided to start attacking Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax by spreading lies to reporters and state leaders in an attempt to quell support for the Lt. Governor as Governor Northam’s impending successor should he resign.”

POLL: MAJORITY OF VIRGINIA AFRICAN-AMERICANS WANT NORTHAM TO REMAIN IN OFFICE

Asked about the statement by the political action committee, which has supported Fairfax in the past, Fairfax did not dispute that Northam’s team could be responsible.

“Collective PAC has made its statement — you know, I don’t know precisely where this is coming from, you know, we’ve heard different things,” Fairfax said. “But here’s the thing: Does anybody think it’s any coincidence that on the eve of my potentially being elevated, that that’s when this uncorroborated smear comes out – does anybody believe that’s a coincidence? I don’t think anybody believes that’s a coincidence.”

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Separately, Northam told King that Herring, the second in line to the governorship, also needs to consider leaving the administration. The state’s top law enforcement officer admitted to wearing blackface in college to imitate a rapper.

“I know Attorney General Herring well, as I do Lt. Gov. Fairfax,” Northam said. “And, you know, we have all grown. I don’t know what the attorney general was thinking — what his perception was of race, of the use of blackface was back then, but I can tell you that I am sure just like me, he has grown, he has served Virginia well. And he, and I, and Justin — all three of us have fought for equality. I regret that our attorney general is in this position. But this is a decision that he’s going to need to make.”

But, speaking to CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Democratic Virginia Rep. Don Beyer suggested Herring should stay on despite the blackface scandal, because his replacement would be a strong conservative.

“I don’t think it’s actually true,” Beyer said, responding to critics who say Democrats are trying to circle the wagons to protect Herring for political reasons. “There are cynics who say this is about the next election. But I think it’s much more about values. We would move from a progressive, very strong attorney general to someone who’s not just a Republican, but who’s on the arch-conservative end of it. So the way our laws would be administered in Virginia would be completely different. This isn’t about party politics as much as it is about the kind of Virignia that we want.”

Fox News’ Matt Richardson contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/northam-vows-to-stay-in-office-to-help-virginia-heal-says-fairfax-herring-may-need-resign

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was condemned Sunday by fellow Democrats after she accused a pro-Israel lobbying group of paying lawmakers in exchange for influence.

The latest controversy engulfing the freshman lawmaker centered on tweets she sent reacting to journalist Glenn Greenwald criticizing House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for threatening punishment against Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., over their criticisms of Israel.

“It’s all about the Benjamins, baby,” Omar said in one tweet, quoting a lyric from the 1997 song by rap artist Puff Daddy.

In a second tweet, Ilhan responded to Batya Ungar-Sargon, the opinion editor of the Forward newspaper, who said, “Would love to know who @IlhanMN thinks is paying American politicians to be pro-Israel, though I think I can guess. Bad form, Congresswoman. That’s the second anti-Semitic trope you’ve tweeted.”

“AIPAC!”, Ilhan exclaimed, referring to the American-Israel Political Action Committee, a prominent pro-Israel lobby.

A flurry of Democrats expressed outrage at Omar. Many said they took umbrage at the suggestion that pro-Israel lawmakers were motivated by “money alone.”

Freshman Rep. Max Rose, D-N.Y., shared a lengthy statement, saying Omar’s comments were “deeply hurtful to Jews.”

Chelsea Clinton, daughter to former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also chimed in, reacting to a follow-up tweet from Ungar-Sargon, who had said, “Please learn how to talk about Jews in a non-anti-Semitic way. Sincerely, American Jews.”

“Co-signed as an American. We should expect all elected officials, regardless of party, and all public figures to not traffic in anti-Semitism,” Clinton said.

In a subsequent tweet exchange, Clinton and Omar agreed they should talk in the near future to discuss what had transpired.

AIPAC too responded to the burgeoning controversy. “We are proud that we are engaged in the democratic process to strengthen the US-Israel relationship. Our bipartisan efforts are reflective of American values and interests. We will not be deterred in any way by ill-informed and illegitimate attacks on this important work,” the group said.

Meanwhile, Matt Brooks, the executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, called on House Democratic leadership to “speak out” against Omar.

Omar and Tlaib, who were the first Muslim women elected to Congress, have previously taken heat for their vocal support of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against the Israel for its treatment of Palestinians.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/democrats-turn-on-ilhan-omar-after-she-targets-pro-israel-group-aipac

El Paso, Texas, Mayor Dee Margo (R) said Saturday that he would “absolutely” correct President TrumpDonald John TrumpRob Lowe mocks Warren over Native American ancestry claims Obama health official blasts Trump’s physical exam: ‘No doctor can predict someone’s future health’ Trump makes Native American joke about Warren campaign announcement: ‘See you on the campaign TRAIL’ MORE if he repeats a false line about crime in the border city during a campaign rally. 

Margo said on CNN’s “SE Cupp Unfiltered” that he’s been unafraid to call out Trump over the comments he made about El Paso last week during the State of the Union address. 

“I’ve been stating it publicly since last Tuesday night,” Margo said, adding that the “the fence” along the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso “serves a useful purpose, but that “it’s not the total panacea.”

“It can’t be,” he said. 

His comments came just days after Trump in his State of the Union address used the border city as an example for why walls reduced crime. 

“[El Paso] used to have extremely high rates of violent crime, one of the highest in the country, and considered one of our nation’s most dangerous cities,” Trump said. “Now, with a powerful barrier in place, El Paso is one of our safest cities,” he said. 

Margo condemned Trump’s comments shortly after the speech, tweeting that “El Paso was never one of the most dangerous cities in the US.” 

“We’ve had a fence for 10 years and it has impacted illegal immigration and curbed criminal activity,” Margo wrote. “It is NOT the sole deterrent. Law enforcement in our community continues to keep us safe.”

He said Saturday that he believes Trump may have been given misinformation from the Texas attorney general about crime statistics during his previous trip to McAllen, Texas. 

El Paso sits just across the border from the Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez and is divided by the Rio Grande and a stretch of fence that was constructed more than 10 years ago.

Margo said that the “geography of Texas won’t allow a fence from El Paso to Brownsville, Texas, even if you wanted to do it.” 

“So it’s got to be part and parcel to technology and manpower,” he added.

Trump has repeatedly demanded a wall along the southern border since his 2016 presidential campaign. His insistence to build one helped spark a government shutdown that lasted 35 days. 

He is set to travel to El Paso on Monday in what will mark his first rally of the 2020 campaign cycle

Source Article from https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/429344-el-paso-mayor-i-will-absolutely-call-out-trump-if-repeats-false-info

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff vowed on Sunday to continue the investigation into President Trump’s finances and foreign connections for as long as it takes.

Speaking during an interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” the California Democrat said he found it “remarkable” that Trump was seeking a business deal with Russia and that he wanted to make sure that the president was “working in the national interest.”

“We are looking to see if the president is working in the national interest,” Schiff said. “That he is not motivated by some pecuniary interest or fear of compromise or actual compromise.”

TRUMP CALLS SCHIFF ‘POLITICAL HACK’ AS DEMS OPEN NEW RUSSIA PROBE, SEND TRANSCRIPTS TO MUELLER

Schiff last week hired former National Security Council staffers to work for him as he launches a sweeping new investigation into Trump – a move that appears to have drawn particular ire from the president.

Trump tweeted Thursday that Schiff and Democrats were going “nuts” with investigations and wrote, without elaborating, that they were “even stealing people from the White House!”

It’s unclear exactly who Trump was talking about, but the tweet comes as Schiff appears to have hired at least one staff member who served on the National Security Council under Trump. The staff member, Abigail Grace, is listed in a House directory as working for Schiff on the intelligence panel. A person familiar with the committee’s staff confirms that she is working for the panel and used to work for the NSC.

HOUSE INTEL COMMITTEE POSTPONES MICHAEL COHEN TESTIMONY TO FEB. 28

Grace worked for a bipartisan think tank, Center for a New American Security, after working for both former President Barack Obama and Trump on the National Security Council from 2016 to 2018. She focused on Asia-Pacific security issues, according to a spokesman for the group.

Schiff wouldn’t confirm the hires in an interview Thursday, but hinted at them while snapping back at Trump.

“We have a long tradition of hiring out of the intelligence community, out of the National Security Council, and if the president is worried about our hiring any former administration people maybe he should work on being a better employer,” Schiff said.

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A committee aide said that none of Schiff’s staff have come directly from the White House, but said the panel has hired people with prior experience on the National Security Council staff.

“We do not discriminate against potential hires on the basis of their prior work experience, including the administration,” the aide said. The person also declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly about confidential committee business.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/schiff-vows-to-continue-investigation-into-trump-finances-russia-links

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(CNN)The United States sailed two warships close to disputed islands in the South China Sea on Monday (Sunday night, ET), a move that is bound to draw the ire of Beijing.

    Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/10/politics/us-ships-south-china-sea/index.html

    Media captionWATCH: Nick Kwek toured the border dividing the US state of Arizona and Mexico’s Sonora

    Talks between congressional Republicans and Democrats aimed at averting another US government shutdown have broken down without agreement.

    The negotiators were hoping for a deal by Monday to give Congress time to pass legislation by Friday, when last month’s federal funding deal runs out.

    The disagreement centres on President Donald Trump’s insistence on a bill that funds a US-Mexico border wall.

    The previous shutdown, lasting 35 days, was the longest in US history.

    The latest impasse has arisen because Democrats want officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to concentrate on detaining migrants with criminal records instead of those who have overstayed their visas by limiting the number of beds its detention centres have, the New York Times reported.

    Democrats were hoping to cap the number of beds at 16,500. That is roughly the number of people detained in the last years of the Obama White House, the Washington Post says.

    Image copyright
    Reuters

    Image caption

    Mr Trump insisted on a “smart” steel barrier during his State of the Union speech

    Negotiators had also been looking at between $1.3bn and $2bn in funding for Mr Trump’s proposed border wall, a long way off the $5.7bn the president has been demanding, reports said.

    On Sunday, lead Republican negotiator Senator Richard Shelby told Fox News that he was “not confident we’re going to get there”.

    “I’ll say 50-50 we get a deal,” he said, adding: “The spectre of a shutdown is always out there.”

    However one of the Democratic negotiators, Jon Tester, said he remained hopeful a deal could be reached in time to avoid a new shutdown.

    “It is a negotiation. Negotiations seldom go smooth all the way through,” he told Fox News Sunday.

    On 25 January President Trump agreed to a three-week spending deal to end the shutdown and allow Congress to reach agreement.

    However he later suggested the talks were a “waste of time”.

    Media captionOther presidents got money for a border barrier – why not Trump?

    Mr Trump had made stopping the influx of undocumented immigrants the focus of his 2016 campaign – and a priority while in office.

    His administration had cracked down on immigrants living illegally in the US by aggressively conducting deportations.

    The president has backed away from his calls to make Mexico pay for a concrete wall along the border. But during his State of the Union speech on Tuesday he insisted on a “smart, strategic, see-through steel barrier”.

    A new shutdown could see federal agencies including the Homeland Security, State, Agriculture and Commerce Departments lose access to money and begin to close down again.

    It would affect about 800,000 federal employees, who would go unpaid. During the last shutdown some employees continued to work unpaid but many others called in sick.

    Source Article from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47191959

    But Cheney, a daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, failed to acknowledge Trump’s tweets in her response. Instead, she attacked Warren, who on Saturday officially declared her presidential candidacy, over the Native American ancestry claims she made in her past and for which she has since apologized.

    Source Article from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/liz-cheney-trump-native-american-jokes_us_5c60486ee4b0f9e1b17e3a5d

    “Today Elizabeth Warren, sometimes referred to by me as Pocahontas, joined the race for President,” Donald Trump tweeted. “Will she run as our first Native American presidential candidate, or has she decided that after 32 years, this is not playing so well? See you on the campaign TRAIL, Liz!”

    Source Article from https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-news-president-trump-native-american-elizabeth-warren-20190210-story.html

    Two weeks after the end of a record-breaking 35-day shutdown of the federal government that caused delayed paychecks, massive airport disruptions, and damage to national parks, another seems to be on the way.

    Border security talks between lawmakers in Congress broke down over the weekend, according to lawmakers and aides at the US Capitol, as the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal reported. Lawmakers face a February 15 deadline to pass new legislation or risk the government shutting down again.

    Read more: Trump signs bill to reopen government for 3 weeks, ending record 35-day shutdown

    “I think the talks are stalled right now. I’m not confident we’re going to get there,” Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard C. Shelby from Alabama, the lead Republican negotiator, said on Fox News, Sunday.

    Lawmakers have been lobbying deals back and forth in attempts to come to an agreement on border security funding. The Trump administration has demanded $5.7 billion to fund construction of a physical barrier along the US border with Mexico, a proposal Democrats in Congress have refused. Democrats and Republicans have been trying to find a number between $1.3 billion and $2 billion that both sides would accept, according to the Post.

    Republican lawmakers said last week that Trump would accept around $2 billion for the wall, but Democrats rejected that number, Politico reported.

    On NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Trump’s acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney told moderator Chuck Todd that “you absolutely cannot” rule out a government shutdown at the end of the week.

    Mulvaney said the border security talks are “all over the map, and I think it’s all over the map because of the Democrats. The president really does believe that there is a national security crisis and a humanitarian crisis at the border and he will do something about it.”

    Read more: THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BORDER CRISIS: Experts say there is no security crisis, but there is a simple way to fix immigration — and it’s not a wall

    Republican lawmakers refused a recent deal proposal from Democrats because it included a demand for a cap on the number of detention beds that ICE would have access to, a source told Politico.

    Mulvaney said Trump will find the money to fund the border wall elsewhere if lawmakers don’t agree to his $5.7 billion demand.

    “You cannot take the shutdown off the table and you cannot take $5.7 billion off the table,” he said. “But if you end up some place in the middle, what you’ll probably see is the president say: ‘OK, and then I’ll go find the money someplace else.”

    Trump has threatened to declare a national emergency in order to secure the funds for the wall. Experts are divided on whether or not such a move would be legal, and lawmakers on both sides have criticized that potential course of action, as Business Insider’s Michelle Mark previously reported.

    “Some Republicans fear it sets a precedent that could later be used by a Democratic president to pursue liberal policies, while Democrats have called it a misuse of executive power,” Mark wrote.

    The federal government’s current funding expires at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, February 16.

    Source Article from https://www.businessinsider.com/another-government-shutdown-border-security-deadline-febuary-15-2019-2

    President TrumpDonald John TrumpRob Lowe mocks Warren over Native American ancestry claims Obama health official blasts Trump’s physical exam: ‘No doctor can predict someone’s future health’ Trump makes Native American joke about Warren campaign announcement: ‘See you on the campaign TRAIL’ MORE spent about 50 percent of his time from Monday to Thursday last week in “Executive Time,” according to a new batch of leaked private schedules obtained by Axios

    The news outlet notes that the latest leak comes only a couple days after it was reported that the administration had opened an internal investigation into who leaked the first slate of private presidential schedules. 

    The schedules obtained by Axios include details about a range of things, and they show that Trump spent the first three hours of his day in “Executive Time” from Monday through Wednesday last week. 

    Trump has reported to be watching television, reading newspapers and making phone calls to aides, lawmakers, friends, advisers and administration officials during those allotted hours. 

    Axios, citing months worth of schedules, reported last week that Trump had spent 60 percent of working hours in “Executive Time” since the midterm elections. A source told the news outlet that Trump typically spends the first five hours of his day in his residency. 

    The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill. 

    Axios notes that the schedules do not present a complete portrayal of the Trump’s day-to-day life. He has a more detailed schedule that is not sent out to senior staff.

    Trump on Sunday defended his use of “Executive Time,” saying that he is “generally working” during those hours and not “relaxing.”

    “In fact, I probably work more hours than almost any past President,” Trump wrote in a tweet.

    He also said that he “had no choice but to work very long hours” because of the state of the country when he took office. He did not dispute the report’s accuracy. 

    Acting White House chief of staff Mick MulvaneyJohn (Mick) Michael MulvaneyIvanka Trump claims president had ‘zero’ involvement in security clearances for her, Jared Kushner White House begins search for person who leaked president’s schedule: report On The Money: Negotiators discussing border funding lower than Trump’s demand | Amazon reconsiders HQ2 move to New York City | Early IRS numbers point to smaller average refunds MORE acknowledged Sunday that the administration had opened an internal probe into the source of the schedules. 

    “It’s not the content,” Mulvaney said on “Fox News Sunday.” “It’s the fact that someone within the White House spent three months collecting this information, which is really, really hard to do.”

    Source Article from https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/429350-more-of-trumps-personal-schedules-leaked-to-press-report

    Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., sparked backlash Sunday evening from members of both parties — including former first daughter Chelsea Clinton — after she accused a prominent lobbying group of paying members of Congress to support Israel.

    Omar, who became the first Somali-American woman elected to Congress in November, responded to a Twitter post by journalist Glenn Greenwald criticizing House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for threatening to take action against Omar and another freshman lawmaker, Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., over allegedly anti-Semitic remarks.

    “There’s situations in our conference where a member does something that is wrong — I think you’ve seen from my own actions that I take action about it,” McCarthy told reporters Friday, making an apparent reference to Republican congressman Steve King of Iowa. “I think when they stay silent, they are just as guilty … I think this will not be the end of this, and if they do not take action then I think you will see action from myself. It’s unacceptable in this country, especially when you sit back and think about and listen to what this country went through in World War II.”

    MCCARTHY ASKS DEMS TO DENOUNCE ALLEGED ANTI-SEMITIC REMARKS: ‘THIS WILL NOT BE THE END OF THIS’

    Greenwald accused McCarthy of targeting Omar and Tlaib for their numerous criticisms of Israel, to which Omar chimed in “It’s all about the Benjamins, baby,” quoting a 1997 rap song by Puff Daddy. She then doubled down when challenged by Batya Ungar-Sargon, the opinion editor of The Forward newspaper.

    “Would love to know who @IlhanMN thinks is paying American politicians to be pro-Israel, though I think I can guess,” Ungar-Sargon tweeted. “Bad form, Congresswoman. That’s the second anti-Semitic trope you’ve tweeted.”

    In response, Omar tweeted “AIPAC!” referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which regularly has been accused by progressives of agitating for a conflict with Iran.

    “We are proud that we are engaged in the democratic process to strengthen the US-Israel relationship,” AIPAC tweeted Sunday evening. “Our bipartisan efforts are reflective of American values and interests. We will not be deterred in any way by ill-informed and illegitimate attacks on this important work.”

    Another freshman Democrat, Max Rose of New York, tweeted that Omar’s statements “are deeply hurtful to Jews, including myself.”

    “When someone uses hateful and offensive tropes and words against people of my faith, I will not be silent,” Rose said in a statement. “… At a time when anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise, our leaders should not be invoking hurtful stereotypes and caricatures of Jewish people to dismiss those who support Israel. In the Democratic Party – and in the United States of America – we celebrate the diversity of our people, and the Gods we pray to, as a strength. The congresswoman’s statements do not live up to that cherished ideal.”

    JEWISH GROUPS CONDEMN REP. RASHIDA TLAIB OVER TIES TO RADICAL PRO-HEZBOLLAH, ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST

    The Republican Jewish Coalition called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to take action against Omar and asked rhetorically if other House Democrats would “care to comment on the outrageous anti-Semitism being spewed by one of your fêted members?”

    “[House Majority] Leader [Steny] Hoyer [D-Md.] – you’ve led many AIPAC trips to Israel,” RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks tweeted. “Will you speak out against this??”

    McCarthy himself tweeted: “Anti-Semitic tropes have no place in the halls of Congress. It is dangerous for Democrat leadership to stay silent on this reckless language.”

    Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who repeatedly accused the global body of anti-Israel bias during her tenure, tweeted that Omar’s statements “CANNOT be tolerated in our own Congress by anyone of either party. In a time of increased anti semitism, we all must be held to account. No excuses.”

    Chelsea Clinton tweeted: “We should expect all elected officials, regardless of party, and all public figures to not traffic in anti-Semitism.”

    Left-wing historian and Politico Magazine contributing editor Joshua Zeitz tweeted: “I’m one of those American Jews who opposes the occupation [of the West Bank and Gaza Strip], laments Israel’s anti-democratic drift, and doesn’t regard the country as especially central to my Jewish identity. And I knew exactly what the congresswoman meant. She might as well call us hook-nosed.”

    Clinton later promised that she would “reach out” to Omar Monday after another user said she was “disappointed” that Clinton was “piling on.”

    “I would be happy to talk,” Omar tweeted at Clinton in response. “We must call out smears from the GOP and their allies. And I believe we can do that without criticizing people for their faith. I look forward to building an inclusive movement for justice with you.”

    Sunday marked the latest in a long line of statements by Omar that critics have slammed as anti-Semitic. In 2012, she tweeted that “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel. #Gaza #Palestine#Israel.” She did not apologize for posting the tweet until last month.

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

    In January, Omar argued in a Yahoo! News interview that Israel could not be considered a democracy and compared it to the Islamic theocracy in Iran.

    “When I see Israel institute laws that recognize it as a Jewish state and does not recognize the other religions that are living in it, and we still uphold it as a democracy in the Middle East I almost chuckle because I know that if we see that any other society we would criticize it, call it out,” she said. “We do that to Iran, we do that to any other place that sort of upholds its religion. And I see that now happening with Saudi Arabia and so I am aggravated, truly, in those contradictions.”

    Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ilhan-omar-aipac-tweet-condemnation-including-from-chelsea-clinton

    President TrumpDonald John TrumpRob Lowe mocks Warren over Native American ancestry claims Obama health official blasts Trump’s physical exam: ‘No doctor can predict someone’s future health’ Trump makes Native American joke about Warren campaign announcement: ‘See you on the campaign TRAIL’ MORE on Sunday mocked Sen. Amy KlobucharAmy Jean KlobucharFormer Klobuchar staffers complain of mistreatment, temper: report Pollster says appeal of women candidates to woman voters is overestimated Overnight Health Care — Presented by PCMA — Trump official says agency would not have supported family separations | 2020 Dems walk fine line on ‘Medicare for all’ | Advocates skeptical of Trump AIDS pledge | Johnson and Johnson to show drug prices on TV MORE (D-Minn.) for launching her presidential campaign in wintry conditions in Minnesota, tweeting that she “looked like a Snowman.”

    “Amy Klobuchar announced that she is running for President, talking proudly of fighting global warming while standing in a virtual blizzard of snow, ice and freezing temperatures,” Trump tweeted. “Bad timing. By the end of her speech she looked like a Snowman(woman)!”

    Klobuchar announced her candidacy on Sunday in Minneapolis, where scores of supporters stood out in steady snowfall and frigid temperatures.

    The three-term senator laid out her vision for the country, which included tackling environmental issues. She vowed to “put forth sweeping legislation to invest in green jobs and infrastructure” if elected president. She also declared that she would direct the U.S. to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord “on day one” of her administration. 

    Klobuchar additionally said she would “take on the gun lobby,” root out big money in politics, lower health care costs, restore voting rights and implement privacy protection laws.

    She did not mention Trump by name, but alluded to him when she declared the country deserved better than “foreign policy by tweet.”

    “Our sense of community is fracturing across our nation, worn down by the petty and vicious nature of our politics,” she said. “We are tired of the shutdowns and the showdowns, of the gridlock and the grandstanding. Today, on this snowy island, we say enough is enough.”

    Klobuchar became the latest Democrat to enter the 2020 presidential campaign, joining Sens. Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth Ann WarrenRob Lowe mocks Warren over Native American ancestry claims Trump makes Native American joke about Warren campaign announcement: ‘See you on the campaign TRAIL’ Trump divides Democrats with warning of creeping socialism MORE (Mass.), Cory BookerCory Anthony BookerTrump divides Democrats with warning of creeping socialism A new direction for black politics: Power at state, local levels Warren launches White House bid with call for ‘structural change’ MORE (N.J.), Kamala HarrisKamala Devi HarrisRob Lowe mocks Warren over Native American ancestry claims Trump makes Native American joke about Warren campaign announcement: ‘See you on the campaign TRAIL’ Trump divides Democrats with warning of creeping socialism MORE (Calif.) and Kirsten GillibrandKirsten Elizabeth GillibrandVirginia Lt. Gov.’s accuser willing to testify at impeachment hearings: lawyers Rob Lowe mocks Warren over Native American ancestry claims Trump makes Native American joke about Warren campaign announcement: ‘See you on the campaign TRAIL’ MORE (N.Y.), among others.

    Her announcement was preceded by a parade of state and local officials, nearly all of whom made jokes about the weather.

    “The rest of America thinks that it’s cold. We know this is a heat wave,” Sen. Tina SmithTina Flint SmithOn The Money: Lawmakers look to end shutdowns for good | Dems press Mnuchin on Russia sanctions, debt limit | Trump budget delayed by shutdown Dems push to include contractor back pay in any shutdown deal How the government will reopen MORE (D-Minn.) said, adding that she “barely” needed her long underwear.

    Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan took the stage and marveled that it was “a beautiful day.”

    Trump has made light of frigid temperatures multiple times in recent months, suggesting that the spell of cold weather in certain parts of the country contradicts global warming.

    The president has repeatedly cast doubt on the existence and effects of climate change. Experts have noted that there is a difference between climate and the weather.

    Updated at 5:25 p.m.

    Source Article from https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/429343-trump-mocks-klobuchar-over-bad-timing-of-speech-she-looked-like-a

    Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, said Sunday that a shutdown isn’t the most likely option but that he “absolutely cannot” rule it out.“He’s going to do whatever he legally can to secure the border,” Mulvaney said of President Donald Trump on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” one of two scheduled appearances on Sunday talk shows.

    Source Article from https://www.philly.com/news/nation-world/congressional-talks-border-security-have-broken-down-20190210.html

    It didn’t take much to figure out that border security talks were stalled this weekend.

    If they were close to nailing down a deal, negotiators and staff would have been at the Capitol. They wouldn’t have been out doing their usual weekend activities. Church. Exercise. Virginia wineries. Trips out of town. Kid activities. Birthday dinners in D.C. bistros.

    Things are stalled. And that’s why uncertainty is the word this week in Washington.

    Will border security conferees find a path to an accord on border security? Will they avert a government shutdown? Is there enough time? Would any pact earn the signature of President Trump?

    Democrats weren’t willing to cut a deal before Trump delivered his State of the Union address Tuesday. A false hope helped permeate the talks when Trump didn’t declare a national emergency in his speech and Democrats seemed willing to bend.

    That’s one of the reasons Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., was practically ebullient when he returned from the White House Thursday afternoon after huddling with Trump.

    “It’s the most positive meeting I’ve had with the president,” said Shelby. “The trajectory is very positive right now.”

    Fast forward to Sunday morning.

    “Those olive branches became thorn bushes,” confided one knowledgeable source.

    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., expressed certainty that a second shutdown wouldn’t hamstring Washington – suggesting that a second shutdown spelled doom for Republicans. However, some Republicans thought Pelosi was simply trying to tempt the GOP to misplay their hand.

    Shelby thought Trump would sign a measure to avoid a shutdown, “if we work this out in the context we were talking today.”

    However, the Alabama Republican was far from convinced a shutdown was out of the question.

    “Certainty?” asked Shelby rhetorically. “There is a lot of uncertainty.”

    White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said a shutdown remained “on the table” during an appearance on Fox News Sunday. Democrats don’t want a shutdown. But, if there is, Pelosi and company are certainly betting voters again will blame Republicans.

    Until Friday, members of the border security conference committee expressed optimism. But, multiple sources warned Fox News that the cheerfulness scared them. By Friday afternoon, another source central to the process suggested they were more pessimistic now than they were before. By Sunday morning, everything was dead.

    One constant source of cynicism stems from how negotiators on both sides view the president.

    There’s always been angst that if negotiators reach a deal, Trump still might not sign it. Trump can be tempestuous and unpredictable. Everyone on Capitol Hill remembers what happened in December. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., thought the White House signaled the president would sign a short-term spending measure to avoid a shutdown. McConnell put the measure on the floor and the Senate approved the package via voice vote. By morning, Trump opposed the bill.

    Here’s the other problem: the president isn’t going to get anywhere near $5.7 billion for a wall or a physical barrier, regardless of what you want to call it. In fact, he may not even score $2 billion. The number is more likely to clock in at $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion in spending for a border barrier – although Fox News has heard figures well below those numbers.

    “It’s not going to be good no matter what they reach and he won’t sign it,” said one source close to the president.

    There are limitations as to how much money border security conferees can allocate to the Department of Homeland Security bill. The total cost of the measure would likely hover around $49 billion to $50 billion for Fiscal Year 2019. If conferees were to really explode spending for the wall, they’d have to cut other DHS priorities. That could jeopardize national security.

    As one source put it to Fox News, “you don’t get your icebreaker” if you push for more physical barrier spending.

    McConnell criticized House Democrats for passing a variety of bills to re-open the government during the shutdown, decrying the measures as “show votes.” However, one could level a similar criticism at House Republicans – still in the majority late last year – when they advanced a bill to fund the government and spend $5 billion for the wall. Nowhere in that plan pushed by former House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., was any fiscal offset provision to address other Homeland Security needs. In other words, the GOP bill would have spent money for the wall, potentially at the expense of other national security priorities.

    NO BORDER SECURITY DEAL ON THE TABLE AS SHUTDOWN DEADLINE LOOMS

    Striking a balance can be found through compromise. That’s exactly what Democrats and Republicans tried to do behind the scenes in this conference committee. Remember, many Democrats don’t want any money at all devoted to a physical barrier. But, if Democrats are going to agree to some wall funding, then they had better secure something for their concession.

    “Like in any negotiation, Republican want some form of physical barriers. It’s what do we get in exchange for that?” said Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., one of the conferees.

    In exchange, Democrats are adding restrictions about how to spend physical barrier money. They are also pushing limitations in “interior enforcement,” such as the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, the parameters of what ICE agents can do and ICE beds. Republicans say Democrats want to cap ICE’s ability to detain people and count felons against the cap.

    “The wall is a red herring for the Democrats,” added a Republican source. “We got stuck on an interior enforcement cap.”

    “This weekend will tell us a lot about where this is going,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Friday.

    And look where we are.

    McCarthy has focused on what Pelosi can deliver to avert a shutdown. However, if Pelosi is to convey success, she and the Democrats are going to have to get something for a yes vote.

    There are five things to know about Pelosi in this exercise:

    1)     Pelosi is a former member of the Appropriations Committee. Appropriations and deal-making are in her DNA. She would like to see them reach an agreement. But, Pelosi has to score a big win. She’s hearing a lot of noise from liberals in her caucus about the performance of ICE.

    2)     Pelosi must also stick to her position of no money for a “wall.” The question is whether Pelosi can abide whatever the final terminology is in the legislation and if it could be interpreted or not interpreted as a “wall.” Fox News has long been told that the word “wall” may not even appear in the legislation, even if it’s something some Republicans may characterize as a “wall.”

    3)     Pelosi has fought against the president. That’s good internal politics for the speaker. Still, Pelosi must strike the right balance toward standing firm on her principles, yet open to compromise. She can’t appear to be too strident.

    4)     Pelosi knows it’s good for many of her moderate freshman Democrats from swing districts to vote for border security. Many of these Democrats represent battleground districts. Vote yes on this plan and call the barrier whatever works back home.

    5)     Pelosi is also under the microscope of House Democratic freshman. They are a different breed. Not all are liberals, either. Many don’t want to see another shutdown. Some are willing to go toe-to-toe with the president. But by the same token, they also want to get things done and seek compromise. There could be pressure from freshman to get to “yes.” They want voters to view them as “problem solvers.”

    As is always the case in these negotiations, a final outcome will hinge on getting the math right. Assembling just the right mixture of Democrats and Republicans to support a package. Any final arrangement would likely require votes in the middle. Lawmakers at the margins – hard left and hard right – would probably oppose the legislation. Still, there’s a sweet spot in the middle of lawmakers from both parties who could vote yes.

    If there’s no agreement, the sides may have to approve an interim spending bill (known as a CR, short for “Continuing Resolution) to fund the government. Such a plan simply re-ups all spending at current levels. It’s possible appropriators could split the measure – taking the six spending bills where there is agreement and moving them as “new” bills – and simply doing a CR for DHS. But, a CR for all bills is bad for Democrats. They scored a lot of domestic policy wins in those measures. A CR for everything means Democrats leave money for their programs on the table. This could be an incentive for Democrats to deal.

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

    So we look to next weekend. Government funding expires at 11:59:59 p.m. ET Friday. Will key lawmakers and staff engage in typical weekend activities then because the government is open? Or will they be doing those things because there’s nothing to discuss and the impasse continues?

    The only certainty now in Washington is the uncertainty.

    Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/reporters-notebook-will-stalled-border-security-talks-lead-to-the-next-government-shutdown

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    (CNN)President Donald Trump might be in jail by the time Election Day comes around, Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren said on her first full day of campaigning as a declared presidential candidate.

    Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/10/politics/elizabeth-warren-donald-trump/index.html

    Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam places hand over his heart at a funeral for a state trooper Saturday in Chilhowie, Va., during one of his first public appearances since the blackface scandal broke.

    Steve Helber/Pool/Getty Images


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    Steve Helber/Pool/Getty Images

    Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam places hand over his heart at a funeral for a state trooper Saturday in Chilhowie, Va., during one of his first public appearances since the blackface scandal broke.

    Steve Helber/Pool/Getty Images

    It may be tough to believe it’s been just a week and a half since a racist photograph in a decades-old medical school yearbook knocked Virginia’s leadership into disarray.

    Consider: In just 10 days, Gov. Ralph Northam has admitted to being in to being in the racist photo — then denied it, then admitted to wearing blackface on a separate occasion. Attorney General Mark Herring said he, too, had donned blackface. And two sexual assault allegations have surfaced against Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax.

    But amid all this turmoil, there is at least one thing that has not happened: Not one of the three men has bowed to public pressure and resigned.

    Virginia “needs someone who is strong who has empathy, who has courage and who has a moral compass,” Northam told CBS News on Sunday, in his first televised interview since the scandal broke. “And that’s why I’m not going anywhere. I have learned from this. I have a lot more to learn.”

    Northam’s assertion defies the condemnations issued recently by prominent Virginian politicians on both sides of the aisle — many of whom have also called on Fairfax, who is black, to step down for very different reasons.

    Since a second woman came forward Friday with a sexual assault claim against him, the lieutenant governor has been asked to resign by the Democratic Party of Virginia, Sen. Tim Kaine and nearly the state’s entire Democratic congressional delegation, among others.

    But Fairfax has steadfastly maintained that the two incidents that surfaced this week — one from 2004, and the other from 2000 — were consensual sexual encounters, and he has asked for the FBI to conduct an investigation in order to ensure “due process.”

    Despite the controversy this week, Justin Fairfax continued to fulfill his duties as lieutenant governor — such as presiding over Senate sessions at the Capitol. Here he is gavelling a session to order Friday in Richmond.

    Steve Helber/AP


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    Steve Helber/AP

    Despite the controversy this week, Justin Fairfax continued to fulfill his duties as lieutenant governor — such as presiding over Senate sessions at the Capitol. Here he is gavelling a session to order Friday in Richmond.

    Steve Helber/AP

    Those rebuttals have not satisfied fellow Democrat Patrick Hope, a state delegate who has promised to introduce articles of impeachment when lawmakers reconvene Monday. Both of Fairfax’s accusers, Vanessa Tyson and Meredith Watson, announced over the weekend that they would be willing to testify at an impeachment hearing if called upon.

    “Ms. Watson stands ready, although it will be painful, to tell the Virginia Legislature what Mr. Fairfax did to her when she was 20 years old,” Watson’s lawyers says in a statement emailed to NPR. They also noted she would be able to provide “at least two witnesses whom Ms. Watson told of the assault the day after Fairfax raped her.” (Emphasis theirs.)

    As embattled as the politicians may seem at the moment, it’s possible that today’s unique political environment will help the three men hang onto office. Alison Dagnes, a political science professor at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, says they’ve got the benefit of deep political polarization, the growth of partisan media — and now the model of President Trump, who has often survived his scandals simply by riding out the news cycle.

    “That has served as an unfortunate lesson now for politicians who are in office. And this is regardless of party because Northam, of course, is a Democrat,” says Dagnes, who has studied and written extensively about political scandals.

    And according to Dagnes, the increasingly tumultuous news cycle may help politicians endure scandal until the public loses interest — but it doesn’t help resolve the painful questions those scandals have raised.

    “When politicians are given the cue that if they just keep their mouth closed and they disappear for a little while, it’ll all go away, they’re wrong. They may keep their job, but at what cost?” she says. “Because the country will still be hurt by this until we address it.”

    Gregory Howard, interim dean of theology at Richmond’s historically black Virginia Union University, says there’s still another point not to miss when thinking about the apologies offered by Northam and Herring.

    “Every now and again, we slip up, we fall, and we have a responsibility to dust ourselves off and seek for full healing and reconciliation — but reconciliation that is based upon the one who has been offended, not the offender,” Howard explains.

    For now, it appears Virginians themselves remain split on whether their leaders must step down. In a poll conducted late last week by The Washington Post and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, respondents were evenly divided as to whether Northam should resign. And most of them did not know enough about Fairfax’s response to the allegations to feel strongly about it.

    To Howard and many of his students, though, the answer is clear.

    “This is not a partisan issue. This is not a political issue,” he says. “This is a matter of humanity and morality.”

    Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2019/02/10/693136743/virginia-state-leaders-hold-on-tight-to-office-after-more-than-a-week-of-turmoil

    El Paso, Texas, Mayor Dee Margo (R) said Saturday that he would “absolutely” correct President TrumpDonald John TrumpRob Lowe mocks Warren over Native American ancestry claims Obama health official blasts Trump’s physical exam: ‘No doctor can predict someone’s future health’ Trump makes Native American joke about Warren campaign announcement: ‘See you on the campaign TRAIL’ MORE if he repeats a false line about crime in the border city during a campaign rally. 

    Margo said on CNN’s “SE Cupp Unfiltered” that he’s been unafraid to call out Trump over the comments he made about El Paso last week during the State of the Union address. 

    “I’ve been stating it publicly since last Tuesday night,” Margo said, adding that the “the fence” along the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso “serves a useful purpose, but that “it’s not the total panacea.”

    “It can’t be,” he said. 

    His comments came just days after Trump in his State of the Union address used the border city as an example for why walls reduced crime. 

    “[El Paso] used to have extremely high rates of violent crime, one of the highest in the country, and considered one of our nation’s most dangerous cities,” Trump said. “Now, with a powerful barrier in place, El Paso is one of our safest cities,” he said. 

    Margo condemned Trump’s comments shortly after the speech, tweeting that “El Paso was never one of the most dangerous cities in the US.” 

    “We’ve had a fence for 10 years and it has impacted illegal immigration and curbed criminal activity,” Margo wrote. “It is NOT the sole deterrent. Law enforcement in our community continues to keep us safe.”

    He said Saturday that he believes Trump may have been given misinformation from the Texas attorney general about crime statistics during his previous trip to McAllen, Texas. 

    El Paso sits just across the border from the Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez and is divided by the Rio Grande and a stretch of fence that was constructed more than 10 years ago.

    Margo said that the “geography of Texas won’t allow a fence from El Paso to Brownsville, Texas, even if you wanted to do it.” 

    “So it’s got to be part and parcel to technology and manpower,” he added.

    Trump has repeatedly demanded a wall along the southern border since his 2016 presidential campaign. His insistence to build one helped spark a government shutdown that lasted 35 days. 

    He is set to travel to El Paso on Monday in what will mark his first rally of the 2020 campaign cycle

    Source Article from https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/429344-el-paso-mayor-i-will-absolutely-call-out-trump-if-repeats-false-info