The Truth Behind The Shutdown

The current government shutdown doesn’t make a lot of sense–ICE has already been funded through the year, so the only people hurt are the Transportation Security Administration, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, Department of State, Department of Transportation, Department of Health and Human Service (source here).

On Tuesday, LifeZette posted an article suggesting what the current government shutdown is really about.

The article reports:

Sen. Markwayne Mullin criticized Democrats over the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, arguing during an exchange with Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer that the impasse was designed to coincide with the State of the Union rather than reflect genuine negotiations.

Hemmer asked the Oklahoma Republican whether there was a path forward to reopen the government.

“My question to you is, do you see a way out today as a way to get out of this?” Hemmer said.

Mullin responded by saying meaningful negotiations have not been taking place.

“Well, if we were actually negotiating on actual terms, to reopen, yes, but that’s not the state of play here. The state of play is to be shut down during the State of the Union for DHS, and that’s what it’s always been. If it was actual conversation about reforms. It wouldn’t have taken them 10 days to come back with a proposal after they shut us down almost three weeks ago.”

Mullin said that when a proposal was eventually delivered, the White House responded quickly, but talks did not continue.

On January 7th, USA Today reminded us when the State of the Union address would occur:

On Jan. 7, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) formally invited President Donald Trump to deliver his State of the Union address on Feb. 24.

Johnson posted a copy of the invitation sent to the president on X. In it, the Speaker praised Trump for his “bold action” and leadership and said the United States “stands stronger, freer, and more prosperous.”

“Since his return to office, @POTUS has not stopped working for the American people and delivering on his promises. The best is yet to come,” Johnson said on X.

The speech on Feb. 24 will mark Trump’s first State of the Union of his second term. 

Even without a majority, the Democrat party is intent on throwing any wrench it can into the governance of America. It is truly time to go back to a talking filibuster and make the Democrats stand up for what they supposedly believe.

It’s Only A Problem When President Trump Does It!

On Saturday, Breitbart posted an article about the airplane Qatar is giving to America to replace Air Force One. It seems that this was not a spur-of-the-moment decision by Qatar.

The article reports:

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) pointed out that talks regarding Qatar giving the United States a plane to temporarily replace Air Force One began under the Biden administration.

In an interview on CNN, Mullin pointed out that the U.S. needed a temporary replacement for Air Force One since President Donald Trump was “flying around on a 40-year-old plane.”

“Here’s what’s interesting to me, what the media isn’t telling you — what no one’s talking to you about, is the same 747 has been in negotiations for a year,” Mullin said. “The Biden administration is the one that started these conversations. It didn’t start underneath the Trump administration. Why? Because we need a back-up for Air Force One.”

“The President of the United States is flying around on a 40-year-old plane, and there is no back-up for it,” Mullin continued. “The back-up we had, the air frame started having structural issues. No one’s discussing that part.”

The article concludes:

Ali Al-Ansari, Qatar’s Media Attaché to the U.S., previously described reports that Qatar was gifting a plane to the U.S. during Trump’s visit to Qatar as “inaccurate” and said the “possible transfer” of a plane to the U.S. was “under consideration.”

“Reports that a jet is being gifted by Qatar to the United States government during the upcoming visit of President Trump are inaccurate,” Al-Ansari said in a statement. “The possible transfer of an aircraft for temporary use as Air Force One is currently under consideration between Qatar’s Ministry of Defense and the US Department of Defense, but the matter remains under review by the respective legal departments, and no decision has been made.”

As usual, the political left is creating much ado about nothing.