The cracks are showing in Nancy Pelosi’s brittle coalition of the unwilling. Obstructionists unwilling to give an inch on the wall, the Democrats are marching off to electoral oblivion.
The wall, in some form, is inevitable because Trump will not back down. In other words, both Trump and Pelosi will have to compromise but make no mistake – Trump is getting his wall.
The first cracks in Pelosi’s coalition were visible earlier today in a letter sent by moderate Hosue Democrats to Pelosi.
They want a vote on the wall and they are not taking no for an answer. And now we have a Minnesota Democratic Representative publicly breaking with Pelosi and demanding she give Trump money for the wall.
From The Hill: Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) called on his Democratic colleagues to give President Trump the funding for his long-desired border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, saying its construction is inevitable.
“Give Trump the money,” Peterson told KFGO’s “News & Views” on Tuesday. “I’d give him the whole thing … and put strings on it so you make sure he puts the wall where it needs to be. Why are we fighting over this? We’re going to build that wall anyway, at some time.”
The 15-term congressman said top Democrats look at him “cross-eyed” when he makes this suggestion.
The funding could come with stipulations requiring some money go toward Border Patrol and improving security measures at ports of entry, Peterson said.
“I don’t know if I want to give (Trump) a blank check, but I don’t want to preclude him from getting the money either, if he’s going to use the money correctly,” Peterson told the the outlet.
Peterson said Democratic leadership handing over the requested $5.7 billion for the wall would end the “unnecessary” partial government shutdown which began on Dec. 22.
From Politico:
A group of centrist House Democrats, eager to end the shutdown and sick of political posturing, is pressing Speaker Nancy Pelosi to counter President Donald Trump’s immigration proposal with her own potential compromise.
The group, led by Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia, is asking the California Democrat to offer Trump a vote on his border wall sometime in February if he signs a bill reopening the federal government, according to a draft copy of the letter obtained by POLITICO.
“We understand that this shutdown was not caused by the 116th Congress, but it is our job to fix it,” the letter reads, detailing the hit the shutdown has had on federal workers as well as the economy.
