Both Republicans and Democrats, including two first ladies, are calling on the president to put an end to Attorney General Jeff Sessions's 'zero tolerance' border policy of separating parents and children for unlawfully crossing the border.
"These images, every day, are starting to break through regular Americans, including the Trump base," said Axios co-founder and executive editor Mike Allen.
Since the policy went into effect in April, almost 2,000 children have been separated from their families.
Over the weekend, former first lady Laura Bush weighed in on the issue, condemning the separations as "immoral" and saying they break her heart.
Current first lady Melania Trump also responded through a spokesperson, she "hates to see children separated from their families and hopes both sides of the aisle can finally come together to achieve successful immigration reform."
Trump will reportedly use this issue as leverage to get funding for his wall when he meets with House Republicans on Tuesday, Allen said in an interview with Cheddar's Jon Steinberg.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/pressure-mounting-on-president-trump-over-immigration).
Cheddar's Chloe Aiello has our cannabis year-in-review, breaking down how several states legalized adult recreational use and greenlit medicinal use in 2021. She noted that while a cannabis legalization and decriminalization bill was introduced in Congress this year, potential FDA involvement in the industry, as well as a 25 percent excise tax, killed any chance the bill had of moving forward. Aiello also speculated that some form of cannabis reform could be rolled out in 2022, as the midterm elections draw closer.
Jim Worden, Chief Investment Officer at Wealth Consulting Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the period between Christmas and New Year's is difficult to predict due to a lack of institutional volume, with the Omicron variant adding even more uncertainty on Wall Street.
Prices at the pump this year reached a seven-year high, and a new forecast from GasBuddy shared with CNN predicts that gas prices will only continue to rise in 2022 and that the national average could even reach $4.00 a gallon; however, analysts at GasBuddy say anything could happen when it comes to gas prices in the future, as the pandemic has made it difficult to make any predictions about the economy. Consumer Energy Alliance federal policy advisor Michael Zehr joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
David Stryzewski, CEO of Sound Planning Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says that some of the major stock positions are getting the most lift to the upside as the major indexes climb higher to begin the week.
