Indivisibles ,
Let's cut to the chase: Trump said he would shut the government down over his wall and, tonight, that's exactly what he did.
So what the hell happened?!
On Wednesday, the Senate unanimously passed a clean Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government funded through February 8. Following a few hours of critical (racist, xenophobic) Fox News headlines and Ann Coulter tweets, Trump announced he wouldn't sign it. And showing exactly why they just lost the midterms, House Republicans gave in to Trump's temper tantrum and passed a bill (literally in the last hours of their majority) that contained nearly $6 billion in wall funding.
As expected, the bill was dead on arrival in the Senate.
Right now, there is no plan to re-open up the government, and Trump continues to have a meltdown over the border wall. To their credit, Democrats (led by Senator Chuck Schumer and future House Leader Nancy Pelosi) have been strong in this fight. They gave Trump a bill to fund the government while rejecting his anti-immigrant agenda. As members of Congress (MoCs) negotiate a deal to reopen the government, Democrats must stay strong and confident that their constituents do not want a wall or increased enforcement, they want a clean continuing resolution.
No matter what happens over the next few hours, days, or weeks it's important to keep one thing in mind: a wall is a wall. Whether it's $1.6 billion, $5 billion, or even one new dollar -- any money put toward Trump's border wall would amount to caving to Trump's temper tantrum, and supporting his bigotry.
This is about more than just concrete and steel slats. This shutdown is about whether we as a country stand by while Trump tear gases women and children at the border, whether we allow him to separate and cage families, and whether we continue to allow the Trump deportation machine to operate with impunity.
Now, here's what you can do.
Okay, that's a lot. But there are two things that you can right now. We must show up and project our newly-won congressional power in 2019. And we must demand our MoCs stand strong and continue to reject any new funding for Trump's wall.
- Get the latest from our #TrumpShutdown resource. Here you'll find a play-by-play about how the #TrumpShutdown came together. The Senate is technically in session beginning tomorrow at noon, but with the holidays offices may be short-staffed or shut down completely. Tomorrow, try calling to let them know you want a clean CR, without funding for the wall or enforcement. If you don't get through, pick up the phone again on Wednesday and keep on calling until you get through.
- Find a January 3 day of action event near you (or plan one yourself!). On the first day of the new Congress, be sure to tell your MoCs that this is #OurHouse. And in our house, we want a clean CR with no additional funding for the border wall, detention beds, and enforcement agents. No matter what happens in the next few days, we need to let our MoCs know that this will not, and can not happen, in 2019.
We'll send you more updates on how you can take action as soon as we possibly can. Make sure to follow us on social media for all breaking updates: @IndivisibleTeam on Twitter and @IndivisibleGuide on Facebook.
In solidarity,
Indivisible Team
Indivisible Project is a locally-led, people-powered movement of thousands of local groups in red, blue, and purple states, and in urban, suburban, and rural areas (at least two in every congressional district!). Our mission is to power and lift up a grassroots movement of local groups to defeat the Trump agenda, elect progressive leaders, and realize bold progressive policies.
###
December 22, 2018
Post Script. I received this by email this morning. I thought you might want to see it. I thought you might want to know what you can do too. #TrumpShutDown #TrumpResign which, by the way, was the #1 hashtag on Twitter today. Use it today too.
Here is what Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer said.
Here is Speaker Pelosi's latest tweet, summarizing the sad situation.
