The longest government shutdown in United States history finally ended on Friday, but now, statements from acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney suggest Trump is willing to shut down the government yet again, CBS News reported.
On Sunday, Mulvaney appeared on “Face the Nation,” where when asked if the president was prepared to reinstate a shutdown if he doesn’t reach a deal with lawmakers regarding border security, Mulvaney said “Yeah, actually I think he is.”
Mulvaney added that Trump “doesn’t want to shut the government down” and that the President “wants to do this the right way,” which is through legislation.
The 35-day government shutdown began after Trump demanded over $5 billion for a border wall between the United States and Mexico, INSIDER previously reported. When Democrats refused to fund the wall, a government shutdown went into effect on December 22, 2018.
As a result of the shutdown, government workers such as Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents, Federal Aviation Administration employees, and government food inspectors, among others, have worked without pay, INSIDER reported. Other government workers like national park employees have been furloughed, causing human waste and trash to pile up at national park sites.
On Friday, Trump signed a bill ending the shutdown temporarily for three weeks. Considering Mulvaney’s comments, however, another government shutdown or even a national state of emergency could be instated if a negotiation isn’t reached soon.
Members of Congress have warned against Trump using a national emergency to push through funding for his border wall. “It’s just not a good precedent to set,” Senator Marco Rubio told Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd.
Still, Trump claimed illegal immigration cost the United States more than $200 billion a year in 2018, a number he has cited without evidence. On Sunday, Trump similarly tweeted that in 2019 alone, illegal immigration has cost the US more than $18 billion.
“I have no idea where that number comes from,” Alex Nowrasteh, an immigration policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a libertarian research organization, previously told Business Insider. “It seems to be conjured out of thin air. I haven’t seen any fiscal cost estimates, either reputable or disreputable, that place the number at $200 billion per year.”
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