Sen. Mark Warner Is Willing to Give Trump Border Security Funds, But for a Price
*By Justin Chermol*
As the partial government shutdown enters its sixth week, it's up to moderates on both sides of the aisle to compromise on a solution to reopen the government, even if it means giving President Trump a partial victory on border funds, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) told Cheddar.
"Let me be clear, I'm willing to support more border security," the Virginia Democrat told Cheddar's J.D. Durkin on Wednesday. "But we ought to do it without these lives being held in hostage. Let's get the government open, even if it's for a few weeks, to let us negotiate."
On Wednesday, the Senate held its first votes in more than a month to reopen the government. Two bills were proposed: a GOP-backed plan that would provide the Trump administration over $5 billion in border wall funding, and a Democrat-backed temporary spending bill that would reopen the government for only a short time. Both bills were voted down.
Still, Warner thinks the votes themselves represent a first step to a compromise.
After the votes, Warner said it will be the responsibility of moderate senators to say "enough of this stuff already" and exchange more border security funding for at least a temporary reopening of the government.
"Let's do what is smart to protect our border," Warner said, "And if Donald Trump wants to declare victory out of that, have it at, as long as we get these folks back to work." He added, however, that enhanced border security should include technology like drones and sensors coupled with additional border walls or fencing.
Hundreds of thousands of federal employees are set to miss their second paycheck on Friday. On Tuesday, Warner proposed his Stop Stupidity (Shutdowns Transferring Unnecessary Pain and Inflicting Damage In The Coming Years) Act to end future government shutdowns. In a [press release](https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2019/1/warner-introduces-legislation-to-end-future-government-shutdowns), Warner said the bill would, "protect federal government workers from being used as pawns in policy negotiations," by keeping the government running even if funding lapses during the congressional appropriations process.
"What my absolute top priority is not continuing to inflict harm, and long-term harm, on these families."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/virginia-senator-mark-warner-will-give-trump-border-security-funds-to-reopen-government).
The Social Security Administration’s acting commissioner has stepped down from her role at the agency over Department of Government Efficiency requests.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says her government is not ruling out filing a civil lawsuit against Google if it maintains its stance of calling the stretch of sea between northeastern Mexico and the southeastern United States the “Gulf of America.” Sheinbaum, in her morning press conference on Thursday, said the president’s decree to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico is restricted to the “continental shelf of the United States” because Mexico still controls much of the body of water. “We have sovereignty over our continental shelf,” she said.
U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum “will not go unanswered,” European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Tuesday, adding that they will trigger toug
President Donald Trump is hitting foreign steel and aluminum with a 25% tax. If that sounds familiar, it’s because he did pretty much the same thing during
President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. to stop minting pennies. His surprise announcement comes after decades of unsuccessful efforts to phase out the 1-cent coin. Advocates for ditching the penny cite its high production cost and limited utility. Fans of the penny cite its usefulness in charity drives and relative bargain in production costs compared with the nickel. Here's a look at some question surrounding Trump's order.
The Trump administration has ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop nearly all its work, effectively shutting down the agency that was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal. Russell Vought is the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought directed the CFPB in a Saturday night email to stop work on proposed rules, to suspend the effective dates on any rules that were finalized but not yet effective, and to stop investigative work and not begin any new investigations. The agency has been a target of conservatives since President Barack Obama created it following the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
Brian Bennett, Senior White House correspondent at TIME, discusses Musk's relationship to Donald Trump and how he has such access in the federal government.
