Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 08:51 pm
Speaker Pelosi made it clear to Donald Trump that he will be getting no wall money in the conference committee’s government funding bill.
Pelosi said when asked if there will be wall money in the bill, “We’re not having a negotiation over this right now. They’re having it over it in there. There’s not going to be any wall money in the legislation. However, if they have some suggestions about certain localities where some technology, some infrastructure, as I said we might need more ports of entry, some roads. That’s part of the negotiation. It is not a negotiation for the president’s. What did he say today? It doesn’t matter what Congress does? I knew that he wanted it all to himself. Oh, really? A president who wants Congress to be completely irrelevant in how we meet the needs of the American people? No. Come on.”
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Pelosi is reasserting the House’s authority as a co-equal branch of government
The wall fight is about something deeper. The phrasing checking Donald Trump was used frequently during the midterm. Placing a check on this president involves Speaker Pelosi reasserting the House as a co-equal branch of government. The political showdown over Trump’s wall is really about Trump’s use of presidential power. Trump doesn’t want a Congress that has the authority to do anything. As Speaker Pelosi said, he wants all the power for himself.
Donald Trump doesn’t understand or respect the checks in balances in our system of government, so what Nancy Pelosi is doing is forcefully reasserting balance into the political process.
Trump isn’t getting his wall
If Trump wants to try to push the limits of presidential power, he can declare a national enemrgency, spend years in court, and still have no wall. Democrats aren’t giving his wall, but if the president wants to shut down the government again, and turn down a financial package that would benefit border security, that’s his rope to hang on.
There will be no wall, and if Trump wants one, he better get on Mexico to send that payment that he promised right away.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
