In first votes, Cline stands with Trump on wall and shutdown

On the first day of the 116th Congress, the House of Representatives passed bills to end the Trump-imposed government shutdown which is causing hardship to hundreds of thousands of federal employees.

If Mr. Trump would take the time to check in with what’s happening in the real world, he might read about the divorced Army veteran who’d worked “three jobs to survive” before getting hired as a paralegal at the Federal Trade Commission — and who now has no idea if he’ll make the rent. He could hear from the single mother who says that she’ll have enough for rent — but not for food. He might be moved by the wife of a corrections officer wondering how her family will handle their “mortgage, day care and car payments” while her husband is working without pay. Or by the disabled Air Force vet who, having waited more than a year for “service-connected surgery,” cannot get final approval for her procedure until the shutdown ends.

One package of bills passed by the House (and agreed to by the Senate last year) would reopen nearly all the federal agencies that have been closed since December 22. Another bill would temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security.

But because of President Trump’s insistence on funding for a border wall (the one Mexico was supposed to pay for), all but a few principled Republicans voted to keep these agencies shut down and thus impose further misery.

Congressman Cline, despite his stated eagerness to end the shutdown, was not among the principled Republicans. And his answers to questions in an interview this morning indicate he won’t be satisfied until Trump is satisfied– whenever that will be.

Cline asserted, “My constituents want to see a wall.” Whether a majority of people in the Sixth District agree with Trump on a wall is questionable, but a better question is: How many of them are willing to continue shutting down large parts of the government to achieve that aim?

If you want to express your opinion to Cline about this or any other matters, you may do so via his website or by calling his office at (202) 225-5431.