,
13 tweets,
5 min read
Read on Twitter
Today I joined a bipartisan majority in voting for @POTUS’ plan to secure our border & reopen the gov. The president asked me to support his plan & I did bc I agree w him that border security is unquestionably a national priority & that we must build a wall to secure the border.
@POTUS The president put forward a reasonable compromise to end this shutdown. This plan secures our border, funds the construction of a much-needed border wall, and reopens the federal government. #SecureTheBorder
In exchange, the president offered to provide a three-year extension of status limited to current DACA recipients and current enrollees in TPS.
I agreed to the president's compromise because it didn't extend amnesty to anybody not covered already under current law and, critically, it didn't create a pathway to citizenship for those here illegally.
Despite @SenSchumer and the Democrats speaking for years about their concern for the Dreamers, they nevertheless voted down the president's offer of protection for Dreamers.
Today @SenSchumer & the Dems also objected to paying the @USCG & to paying all essential federal workers--some 425,000 federal workers including TSA officers, air traffic controllers, Border Patrol agents, ICE officers, FBI agents & others essential to our national security.
I am a co-sponsor of legislation that would pay them all now; if you are being forced to work, basic fairness dictates you should be paid.
The only reason that we didn't put a bill on the president's desk immediately to pay these essential federal workers now is that the Democrats cynically objected, instead holding the workers hostage to try to win a political war with the president. #SchumerShutdown
But @SenSchumer & the Dems would rather keep the government shut down in service of raw political gamesmanship. Their position is no compromise, no negotiation & no wall, no matter what, despite the fact that the Democrats have previously voted overwhelmingly to build the wall.
Now, it's just politics; their extreme position is driven by hatred for the president. That is an untenable position, and the American people will continue to suffer so long as @SenSchumer and the Democrats persist in shutting down the government to spite the president.
I have repeatedly called for building a wall as a necessary step in defending our border and stopping the flow of illegal immigration into our country. #SecureTheBorder
That is why I have also introduced the EL CHAPO Act & the WALL Act – 2 bills that would secure our border by funding the wall & fully paying for it. #SecureTheBorder
I will continue to stand with the working men & women of this country & fight for common-sense solutions that respect the will of the American people. #SchumerShutdown --> bit.ly/2TeeZXs
