American Standoff

We are now more than one month into the "partial" shutdown of the United States government.  It has affected around 800,000 employees, who once thought that being in civil service was the most stable form of employment you could get.

President Donald Trump and Democratic congressional leaders remain at a standstill over funding of a security wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, and are using the shutdown as leverage.  Trump has campaigned for one since 2016 and still wants it, even if he has to sacrifice government services to do it.  Democrats do not, and are so far sticking to their guns.

As the shutdown continues into its second month, those federal employees are going broke for lack of a paycheck and/or are forced to work for free, which doesn't do much for morale.  Other unintended consequences of the shutdown include:

• The possibility that there will be no State of the Union address, at least not in Nancy Pelosi's House.  The Speaker from California flexed her political muscle to disinvite the President from delivering his address in the House chamber, unless the shutdown gets settled.  Trump has said he still plans to address Congress, but there is nothing in the Constitution that says he must do it at the U.S. Capitol.  He can do this anywhere he wants,  He can even use Twitter if he cares to.  But it would be awkward if he did.
• The national college football champion Clemson Tigers, one of the few sports teams who chose to visit the White House since Trump became President, were honored with a buffet of Big Macs, Whoppers and pizza that the President said he paid for.  Meanwhile, federal employees are having a hard time paying for gas to get to work, much less being able to afford a Happy Meal.
• The shutdown has created long security lines at the airport, criminal investigations curtailed, delayed tax refunds, attractions closed and so on.  That's because the FBI, CIA, TSA, IRS and other agencies have employees who are not getting paid, and funding is being suspended.  Thank goodness there has been no major catastrophe.

No one knows how long this is going to go on.  In spite of polls blaming him for the shutdown, it's becoming clear that President Donald Trump doesn't need the wall to benefit from it.  As long as there is no money for investigating him and his cronies just as the facts are about to come out, he doesn't need to worry about ever being prosecuted and/or impeached.  When the standoff finally ends, Trump will be sitting pretty.  And the people, even those who voted for him, will suffer.

UPDATE (1/24/19):  Trump has agreed to postpone the State of the Union address before Congress until after the shutdown ends.  The Senate rejected both parties' proposals to fund border security, with or without a wall. The President is reconsidering his plan to declare a national emergency so he could get the money to build his wall.  And the shutdown continues.