Indifferent to where anyone stands politically, one thing that everyone can agree on is the fact that President Trump has a character of his own. With no hesitation, he makes decisions and frankly loses no sleep at night over the pending consequences.
From the late night tweets to the dismissals of multiple individuals on his administration, there are a plethora of examples of his reactive behavior. This current government shutdown is just another behavioral display added to the lengthy list. What many of the examples previously mentioned have in common are their ability to grasp the attention of the masses and media platforms; constantly striving to set himself apart from the previous presidents, President Trump often shakes things up.
This current government shutdown has climbed to the top of the list, falling into the number one spot for the longest government shutdown in US history. Surpassing the twenty-one-day record set by a shutdown during the Clinton administration, President Trump is demanding over $ 5 billion dollars for his proposed wall that he once claimed Mexico would pay for.
Is the current government shutdown simply part of President Trump's theatrics? The scenario leading to this shutdown is like no other. Mentioned below are the two longest government shutdowns besides this one; who was in office, what caused them and what they resulted in.
Deriving from a disagreement in budget talks between President Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich, the second longest government shutdown in history took place December 5th, 1995 - January 6th, 1996 (21 days).
Following only a month after a significantly more brief government shutdown, the House Speaker Newt Gingrich wanted to reduce the speed of government spending and President Clinton refused to cater to the liking's of the GOP; leading to the second-longest government shutdown in history as of January 10th, 2019. The 5 Longest Government Shutdowns in History Explained
Another fairly extensive government shutdown occurred September 30, 1978 - October 18, 1978 (18 days), the Democrats held both the House and Senate at the time; occurring while Jimmy Carter was in office, he vetoed a dense bill that included funding for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and public works legislation that included funding for various water projects. The 5 Longest Government Shutdowns in History Explained
The shutdown resulted in "a new defense bill that removed funding for the aircraft carrier, a new public works bill that stripped out the projects that Carter opposed, and both the House and Senate passing a bill that reserved abortion funding for special cases, such as rape, incest or if the mother's health was in jeopardy.". The Ghost of Shutdowns Past haunts latest talks to keep the federal government open
As many of you are aware, government shutdowns come with consequences. For example, day after day more and more TSA (Transportation Security Administration) employees are calling in "sick" across the country, becoming an infringement on national security.
That is only one of many cases in which our country and it's citizens are paying for a shutdown that could've simply arisen to feed the insatiable hunger that President Trump has for causing mayhem. Today is day thirty-three of the government shutdown; 800,000 government workers remain unpaid, various GOP senators state that they would break from President Trump in hopes of reopening the government and Mr. President continues to exclaim that he may declare a national emergency to acquire the funding for the wall. What Republican senators are saying about the government shutdown
Growing up, my mother taught me that temper tantrums get you nowhere, but clearly, President Trump believes otherwise.
