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The 115th Congress appears to have given up, with both the House and Senate failing to reach a deal to end the ongoing government shutdown. This likely punts the showdown over the border wall to the 116th Congress where Trump will face off against a Democratic majority in the House. An agreement won’t be pretty, but it would be a good lesson for Trump and one that could set the stage for a productive two years to come.

With Democrats controlling a majority in the House, any new deal that lands on Trump’s desk will be unlikely to hold the funding Trump has demanded for the wall. Since Trump won’t let government remain shut down for the rest of his term, he will eventually need sign a deal to end the gridlock. This will be seen as a capitulation to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the likely new speaker of the House.

That’s not a good start for the new year. It also doesn’t help Trump convince his base that he is the man to stand up to Democrats and make good on campaign promises ahead of 2020.

In the long term, however, handing an early victory to House Democrats may prove a necessary wake-up call on the reality of divided government.

The early realization that a Democrat-controlled House means more trouble than investigations and subpoenas might galvanize the president to sit down and make deals rather than simply making demands. Additionally, Trump could learn to better value Republican allies in Congress and listen to their advice about what is and is not possible. Indeed, had he followed that advice in the lead up to the holidays, the government would likely still be open with agreement on appropriations one final victory of Republican controlled government.

For conservatives, the president learning the difficult lessons of divided government early on and avoiding two years of gridlock would be an important step to victory in 2020. A track record of disagreement and stalemates, however, will fail to convince all but the staunchest supporters that Republicans and Trump are serious about governing.

Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/trump-is-headed-for-a-wake-up-call-on-reality-of-divided-government-thats-not-a-bad-thing

President Trump threatened to shut down the entire southern border with Mexico if his demands for more funding to build a wall aren’t met.

Trump tweeted Friday that if “Obstructionist Democrats” don’t give him the $5 billion he is asking for to build his proposed border wall he will “close the Southern Border entirely.”

“We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall & also change the ridiculous immigration laws that our Country is saddled with,” the president tweeted. “Hard to believe there was a Congress & President who would approve!”

The government has been partially shut down since last week over an impasse between Trump and Democrats over funding for a proposed security wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The government shutdown, which has kept hundreds of thousands of federal employees out of work, is expected to extend into the new year.

AFP/Getty Images, FILE
President Donald Trump speaks to members of the U.S. military during an unannounced trip to Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, Dec. 26, 2018.

On Thursday, the Senate was in session for only four minutes after lawmakers didn’t show up. They aren’t expected in Washington again until the middle of next week.

Approximately 420,000 federal employees have been forced to work without pay during the holidays and another 380,000 are furloughed.

Carlos Barria/Reuters, FILE
Workers are seen next a construction site of the border fence between United States and Mexico, seen from Tijuana, Mexico, Dec. 19, 2018.

The impasse also comes as a second child has died at the border this month.

Felipe Alonzo-Gomez, an 8-year-old Guatemalan boy, died while in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody earlier this week.

On Dec. 8, a 7-year-old girl named Jakelin Caal Maquin, also died in border patrol custody.

Source Article from https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-trump-threatens-close-southern-border-democrats-fund/story?id=60048020

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