Whether he declares a state of emergency over a Trumped-up border crisis or not, his decision to shut down the government is making people less safe, according to a bunch of national security people I interviewed.
thinkprogress.org/government-shu…
thinkprogress.org/government-shu…
Trump's holding the government ransom for his wall and accusing those who oppose him of not caring about Americans' safety.
In fact, the threat of undocumented immigrants is overblown and false.
In fact, the threat of undocumented immigrants is overblown and false.
The shutdown is not a tool Trump is using to improve America's national security.
What it's actually doing is threatening the safety of Americans in and out of public service.
What it's actually doing is threatening the safety of Americans in and out of public service.
DHS isn't just in charge of any potential wall-building, it also coordinates the government’s response to cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, which don't stop during a government shutdown.
Trump just signed a law setting up a new agency to oversee this effort, and they're missing 45% of their staff, all the while they have to staff 24/7 cybersecurity watch floors with people who aren't getting paid.
The former DHS cybersecurity undersecretary Suzanne Spaulding @SpauldingSez told me: "Cybersecurity is hard enough with a full team. Operating at less than half strength means we are losing ground against our adversaries."
Many key staff are doing important work for free. At DHS, there are 5,978 Secret Service staff, 54,935 Border Patrol staff, 15,208 FEMA staff, 44,298 in the Coast Guard, and 55,182 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff being asked to work without pay.
Making people whose jobs are focused on protecting national security more economically vulnerable, isn’t just bad for those employees. It also presents a security problem.
Michael Fuchs @mikehfuchs, former State DAS for East Asia, told me: “Like U.S. diplomats, locally employed staff at U.S. embassies are part of the backbone of American national security, and Trump’s actions are an assault on these critical partners of America.”
This is not to mention the personal safety concerns caused by the shutdown:
-3 deaths at open-but-unstaffed national parks
-Native Americans not getting needed services in winter, causing at least 1 death
-unpaid food safety inspectors
-unpaid housing providers
-etc
-3 deaths at open-but-unstaffed national parks
-Native Americans not getting needed services in winter, causing at least 1 death
-unpaid food safety inspectors
-unpaid housing providers
-etc
Shutdown maven @SamBerger_DC told me: “When you combine the tremendous management challenges posed by a shutdown with the most incompetent administration in modern American history, that’s a recipe for disaster. They can’t manage government on its best day, let alone its worst.”
