Monday evening, congressional representatives on both sides reached a hesitant agreement for the purposes of preventing another government shutdown and possibly finance the construction of Trump’s wall.
The ‘glass half full’ crowd might view it as good news, but upon closer scrutiny those who really took a look at the deal realized it falls short. At least, that’s how President Trump will see it. Trump’s initial demand was for $5.7 Billion, allocated to building “The Wall” to stave off further illegal immigrants. Per the reports coming out of D.C., Congress is willing to grant him a fraction of that. $1.4 Billion to be specific, and that sum falls short of the funds necessary for the building of the wall.
With a budget of $1.4 Billion, a fraction of the wall can be built, a mere 55 of the 215 miles originally intended. Should Trump accept these terms, the bulk of the barrier will be concentrated in parts of the Rio Grande Valley where the greatest number of illegal crossings take place.
Richard Shelby, the Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman and Republican Senator from Alabama, remarked, “With the government being shut down, the specter of another shutdown this close, what brought us back together I thought tonight was we didn’t want that to happen [again].” With that being said, nothing is settled as of yet.
Nita Lowey, the House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman and Democratic Senator from New York, added that “our staffs are just working out the details.”
Should the volatile atmosphere currently consuming Congress begin to settle, Trump may take this offer as an offence rather than an olive branch. Despite the huge number of goodwill ventures that could have otherwise been undertaken with the $1.4 Billion Congress is willing to offer for his wall, Trump might very well decide to dig his heels in, convinced he can get what he wants if he throws a large enough tantrum.
What we have as of now is merely a half-measure, as Trump’s willingness to acquiesce may be seen as a sign of weakness by those who still support him.
Trump insisted at a rally, Monday night, that the wall was most definitely going to be built.
News of progress in talks between the two parties led to an upswing in the market. The Dow rose a staggering 300 points Tuesday morning when it became clear the potential for another shutdown was diminishing.
It’s all up in the air when it comes to the border wall, with over eager investors possibly counting their chickens before they’ve hatched.