McConnell: Trump Will Sign Spending Bill, But Then Declare Emergency to Build the Wall

I don't think he should sign it, not yet at least. No one knows what is in this thing -- it could have a dozen poison pills forbidding Trump from declaring an emergency, or empowering liberal officials to block the wall, empowering the EPA to block the wall, limiting detention bed space, empowering local officials to create sanctuary jurisdictions without consequence, etc., etc., etc.

Artisinal 'ette brings up one such trap:

As @JessicaV_CIS notes, there is a serious amnesty/sanctuary provision snuck into the spending bill.

Section 224(a) would make it so ICE cannot detain or remove anyone who has effectively any kind of relationship (even just as a "potential sponsor") with any unaccompanied minor:

And another one:

Here's a gem from the spending bill. Section 224 (a) says that ICE may not remove any sponsor or *potential sponsor* or *member of a household* of a UAC [Unaccompanies Alien Child]. That's de facto sanctuary for anyone near a UAC.

Ridiculous. 30-40% of MS-13 arrests have been UACs.

And more:

The budget also provides $30 million to hire pro-migration groups that will guide migrants towards winning asylum:

CBD says that Rush Limbaugh is saying the spending bill actually forbids Trump to move money around via the National Emergency process.

Take the time to read this thing, for crying out loud.

And don't count on Republican congressmen to have stripped the poison pills out -- they probably schemed with the Democrats to put them in.

I can forgive Trump failing, given that he's up against so much opposition, but if he signs this thing knowing in advance it is another exercise in Failure Theater, then I'm all done here.

If Trump's also going to be an actor in DC's long-running production of Failure Theater, then what is the use of him?

What would you say you do here, Mr. President?

It is one thing to fail, though you earnestly tried; it is another thing entirely to engage in the disgustingly dishonest game of Failure Theater, where you deliberately engineer your own failure.

DO NOT SIGN THIS BILL.

AND IF YOU DO SIGN IT: DO NOT COME CRYING TO US THAT YOU WERE "FOOLED," PRESIDENT WITH A VERY BIG BRAIN WHO WENT TO WHARTON.

McConnell, however, is now saying he will support, rather than oppose, the declaration of a national emergency.

Seems like some negotiation happened, at least on that front. But if McConnell is agreeing to "support" a national emergency in order to get Trump to sign a bill he knows has a poison pill that prevents it -- what kind of victory is that?

President Donald Trump is ready to sign compromise spending legislation that would avert another government shutdown and will declare a national emergency to get additional funds for a border wall, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said.

McConnell said the Senate will vote on the plan at 3:30 Washington time Thursday. The House is set to vote later in the evening.

The president "has indicated he’s prepared to sign the bill," McConnell said on the Senate floor. "He also will be issuing a national emergency declaration at the same time. I indicated to him I'm going to support the national emergency declaration."

The Freedom Caucus wants to just pass a one-week spending bill at current levels to give them time to read this monster bill and strip out all of its poison pills.

If McConnell refuses this -- this means McConnell is refusing precisely because he doesn't want those poison pills stripped out.

posted by Ace of Spades at 03:50 PM

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