Here is what we’ve been expecting. It’s finally coming out into the open. And it has to do with that stupid, tacky, ridiculous ballroom. We can sincerely hope that it doesn’t get finished before Trump shuffles off this mortal coil. And THAT is something we are all waiting to see. His physical condition is poor. His mind is going away further and faster every day. But he keeps talking about running for another term. Let’s see how *that* illegality will stand. With appreciation for Raw Story:
Republicans won’t have an easy time trying to sneak a high price tag for Trump’s White House ballroom into a bill to fund federal immigration enforcement, a political analyst warned.
“The White House boasted last summer that the price tag for the ballroom would be $200 million, and every penny would come from private donations,” wrote Steve Benen for MSNOW in a Tuesday piece.
“Late last year, it was up to $400 million — though, again, the official line was that American taxpayers wouldn’t be on the hook.”
Okay, two days late on this column, but it needs to be said. Trump is trying to get us to pay for his ballroom and all the shizzle underground he wildly boasts about. It was not in the original plan. Trump has to keep adding this and that so he has more to talk about and try to impress us. How much more is he going to need after that?
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) revealed on Monday that a $72 billion reconciliation package includes $1 billion in security features for Trump’s ballroom, NBC News reported.
“Put another way, congressional Republicans expect the public to pay $1 billion for a $400 million ballroom,” according to Benen.
Benen warns that the ballroom funding will “likely be among the most controversial parts” of a bill that’s supposed to focus on funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, the parent agency of Border Patrol.
“The proposal isn’t just about the ballroom,” Benen wrote. “On the contrary, Republicans are pushing a $72 billion reconciliation package that includes, among other things, more than $38 billion for ICE, roughly $26 billion for CBP and an additional $5 billion for DHS.”
So we’re expected to pay for the damn thing anyhow? Why do ICE and CBP need *more* billions? There are a whole lot of things that money could be better used for. We don’t need to pay for all that. And they’re trying to push it through. What, huh? Republicans might just pull this off, and it means more money coming out of our pockets for things we don’t want or don’t care about. This push to fund ICE/CBP/DHS is ridiculous.
Since the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, Republicans have been more open about changing their minds and having taxpayers foot the bill, Benen noted.
Republicans are pushing a reconciliation package in the wake of losing the standoff to fund DHS.
Ultimately, Democrats were able to avoid a deal that funded ICE and CBP, but “Republicans took the deal knowing that they planned to address ICE and CBP in a separate package,” according to Benen.
Well, heck. They’re going to do it anyhow. It only needs a majority, not the usual 60 votes. This administration is disgusting. Congress sits in its ivory towers, far above the working class, and ignores what we need. It ignores the state of the country. It ignores the fact that ICE has killed two people. It ignores the abuse heaped on immigrants. And they no longer care if citizens are caught up in a sweep. We have to pay for this shizzle on top of everything else we’re dealing with. My hat’s off to our Democrats who put up a damn good fight, minority or not.
See you soon!
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