Friends,
With valentine’s day on the horizon, it seems Congress is feeling the love. Congressional negotiators have agreed in principal to an immigration deal to avoid another shutdown. Elsewhere, the world is a little less rosy – a new Presidential candidate with a temper, anti-Semitic tropes, and a “forgotten” Khashoggi report.
Let’s dig in.
Immigration Negotiations
After negotiations between Democrat and Republican conference committee members broke down over the weekend the possibility of another government shutdown, scheduled to begin on Friday, became much more likely.
But, as of Monday night, the two sides, led by Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vermont) and Senator Richard C. Shelby (R-Alabama), came to an agreement in principal. As of this writing, we have no details on what is in the compromise bill. We do know that the most recent impasse was a function of disagreements over funding for the border barrier and the number of beds available to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain illegal immigrants.
The deal will not include the $5.7 billion for a border wall President Trump has been seeking for the better part of two months. The final figure is likely to be between 1-2 billion for fencing or other barriers. Interestingly, the wall was not the major sticking point over the weekend.
Legislators could not agree on the number of beds that should be made available to ICE for detainees. Democrats wanted to cut the number of detention beds from 49,000 to 34,000 as a mechanism to force the administration to prioritize apprehensions. Immigration activists say lowering the number would force ICE to focus on convicted criminals rather than the general illegal immigrant population which is largely living and working in peace.
President Trump is expected to sign the compromise bill, regardless of the figure for border security. One reason for that is the White House is now exploring how, through executive order, rather than a national emergency declaration, it can find the required funds to construct the entire border wall.
The newest theory is the President could take money from two Army Crops of Engineers’ flood control projects in Northern California and disaster relief funds currently set aside for California and Puerto Rico to build the wall. Such an effort would certainly be challenged in court on the grounds that Congress alone has the power to appropriate federal dollars.
Notably, relief funds for Texas, a consistently Republican state, have been left out of the discussion.
If you like the idea diverting natural disaster relief funds to build a wall on the entire southern border remember these facts from a recentNew York Times article:
· The Rio Grande acts as a natural barrier covering about 40% of the border between the US and Mexico
· The majority of land east of El Paso is privately owned (@conservatives, is a massive expansion of eminent domain to take land from farmers and give it to bureaucrats really the hill you intend to die upon?)
· The vast majority of drugs are smuggled through legal points of entry
· The number of people crossing the border illegally has declined by 82% since 2000.
Ilhan Omar
Freshman Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, issued an apology for an anti-Semitic tweet.
The tweet, pictured above, was followed by another post emphatically blaming the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) for widespread support of Israel in Washington.
Her apology comes after a face to face meeting with Speaker Pelosi. Democratic leadership released a coordinated condemnation which read, in part:
“Legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies is protected by the values of free speech and democratic debate that the United States and Israel share,” the five said in their joint statement, in which they called on Ms. Omar to immediately apologize. “Congresswoman Omar’s use of anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about Israel’s supporters is deeply offensive.”
Characterizations of Jews as using money as a mechanism of social and political control is a centuries old stereotype that, aside from being flatly offensive, undermines the fundamental reason the vast majority of Americans support the Israeli state, namely its dedication to democracy and stability in the middle east and its roots in post-WWII Jewish liberation.
It should be noted that AIPAC does not contribute to politicians, however, individual members do and the organization spends millions on lobbying efforts for pro-Israel policies. However, Rabbi Jonah Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism pointed out that AIPAC “like every other advocacy organization in Washington, is exercising its constitutionally protected rights to advocate on behalf of its agenda,” adding, “When you call it out and differentiate the Jewish community, it feeds that stereotype of controlling the world.”
Klobuchar
Amy Klobuchar, a Democratic Senator from Minnesota, announced on Sunday she is running for President. Klobuchar, running closer to the center than fellow female candidates Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand, highlighted her stable demeanor and ability to solve problems in her announcement speech.
The Minnesota Senator is well liked across the aisle and has been praised by over a dozen GOP Senators for her work ethic, bipartisanship and pragmatism. However, while Senate Republicans enjoy working with her many of her own staff does not. Accompanying her Presidential campaign launch were stories of staff mistreatment characterized by public humiliations for poor work product. However, many, including some of her former staff, say the criticism wouldn’t be quite as sharp if she were a man.
For her part, the Senator addressed the allegations by saying “yes, I can be tough. And yes, I can push people. I know that. But in the end, there are so many great stories of our staff that have been with me for years who have gone on to do incredible things. I have, I’d say, high expectations for myself. I have high expectations for the people who work for me.”
Bite Sized Politics
· While President Trump held a rally in El Paso on Monday former congressman/senate candidate and possible Presidential hopeful Beto O’Rouke led a protest and held his own rally just a few miles way.
· Sen. Kamala Harris called for the legalization of marijuana at the federal level in a Monday morning interview. She went on to say, hilariously, “listen, I think it gives a lot of people joy. And we need more joy.”
· President Donald Trump is planning to disregard a law requiring a report to Congress determining who is responsible for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Senate Republicans are not happy.
Thanks,
Crawford
The Lens 