Congressman to Introduce Full Border Wall Funding This Week

by Jake Wagner: Breitbart ran an exclusive story about Rep Kevin McCarthy’s plans to introduce a bill that would fund the border wall.

Of the central campaign promises that were espoused by then candidate Trump, there is one that was chanted across the land. Of the promises that have eluded enactment, only one defines the nature of the Trump candidacy. That is “Build the Wall.”

Nearly two years into the Trump Presidency, Trump voters are still waiting for a wall. This of course gives credence to the NeverTrumpers who insist that Trump is a liar and will never fulfill his central promise. Yet they would die of a brain aneurysm if Trump were to follow the advice of the High Priestess of Trumpism, Ann Coulter, and start construction of the wall WITHOUT congress. That legal argument is different to say the least, grounded more in tradition than in the text of the constitution or statutes.

NeverTrumpers should actually be blaming congress for a lack of a wall, not Trump. They want congress to oppose his policies, yet they mock Trump supporters when Trump can’t get anything out of a delusional congress that has spent two years ignoring the goals of the president, the leader of the party in the majority.

I have previously described Trump voters as inhabiting one of three areas.

1: blind support.

2: reluctant support – anti-Hillary, anti-liberalism.

3: enthusiastic policy support.

The wall is critical to keeping the support of all three categories. Of course, you have some in category 2 who find the wall to be obnoxious, but I think most conservatives have supported securing the border since at least the 2000s.

But support can be finicky. Not getting the wall is the most precarious situation Trump can put himself in. I contend that many in category 3 would let a potato primary Trump in 2020 if it could reasonably guarantee a wall by 2022.

If congress can work with Trump to achieve this in a timely fashion, 2018 and 2020 may not be as bad as some may anticipate.

We got Trump because politicians have lied to the people for too long, especially on immigration. Politicians ran on securing the border and opposing amnesty, only to spend time in congress working to achieve the very things they opposed…cough cough Rubio.

Here is the link to the Breitbart article, but I’ll give you some snippets of it.“McCarthy, his office confirmed to Breitbart News, will introduce a bill this week that includes the full funding for the border wall–about $23.4 billion more than what has already gone to the wall effort–as well as several other enforcement measures that have already passed the House of Representatives. Congress has already directed $1.6 billion to wall funding in the omnibus spending bill for fiscal year 2018 that just passed Congress, and McCarthy’s new bill–titled the “Build the Wall, Enforce the Law Act”–would take the wall the rest of the way, in addition to providing for a variety of enforcement measures.”

“President Trump’s election was a wakeup call to Washington. The American people want us to build the wall and enforce the law. Maintaining strong borders is one of the basic responsibilities of any nation. For too long, America has failed in this responsibility.”

“The enforcement measures expected to be in this wall funding legislation include, among other legislation, Kate’s Law, a bill the House has already passed targeting sanctuary cities, the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, which passed the House last year 228-195. The Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act, which passed the House last year 233-175, will be in the bill, as will two House resolutions on immigration that passed the House this year: one upholding and honoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, the other admonishing illegal alien voting in a number of American cities.”

“McCarthy’s forthcoming bill will not deal with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the illegal executive amnesty program that former President Barack Obama implemented granting temporary status administratively to illegal alien youths, or visa programs. In other words, the bill will be enforcement and security only.”Breitbart added that it’s not just about keeping a promise to the American people, it’s also about ensuring a republican victory this midterm election cycle.“But Republicans’ Senate reinforcements will not arrive until January 2019 when the new Congress is sworn in, so that means whatever the House passes in late 2018 for it to become law unless the Senate goes for it this year would need to be passed again in early 2019. All of that, of course, sets up an incentive for Republicans to show up to vote on November 6: a vote for a Republican is a vote for the wall, in other words, as the House GOP will need to hold its majority going into the next Congress to ensure that this border wall funding makes it to the president’s desk. If Democrats take the House on November 6, a newly reminted Speaker Nancy Pelosi most certainly would not support funding the wall along the border–which, in turn, makes the midterms a referendum on the wall because if Republicans hold the House and add seats in the Senate, they can get the votes necessary to get full wall funding to Trump’s desk in early 2019.”The republican congress has been dragging its feet. Ted Cruz’s El Chapo Act is sitting around in a dark corner of the senate somewhere; it would seem like a no-brainer to direct any forfeited assets to border security. It would seem like a no-brainer for the republican congress to address the wall and eschew amnesty. Yet voters have been betrayed before. It could happen again. How many chances are we willing to give them before we stay home and let the democrats have at it?
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Jake Wagner is an editor at The Resurgent and former project manager for a legal and civic education non-profit.

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