The Patriot Post Digest 1-25-2019

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The Patriot Post Digest 1-25-2019
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest

Jan. 25, 2019 · https://patriotpost.us/digests/60784-mid-day-digest

THE FOUNDATION

“Energy in the executive is a leading character in the definition of good government. It is essential to the protection of the community against foreign attacks; it is not less essential to the steady administration of the laws; to the protection of property against those irregular and high-handed combinations which sometimes interrupt the ordinary course of justice; to the security of liberty against the enterprises and assaults of ambition, of faction, and of anarchy.” —Alexander Hamilton (1788)

https://patriotpost.us/fqd/60783-founders-quote-daily

IN TODAY’S EDITION

The shutdown hit day 35 because Democrats refuse to negotiate.1
Another nuclear option to clear judicial backlog?2
Daily Features: On the Web3, Columnists4, Headlines5, Memes6, Cartoons7, Opinion in Brief8, and Short Cuts9.

IN BRIEF

Dems Refuse to Negotiate; Will Trump Declare Emergency?10

Thomas Gallatin

On Thursday, the Senate voted on competing spending deals. Both went down to defeat as neither the GOP’s nor the Democrats’ bills met the 60-vote threshold required for passage. Prior to voting, both parties acknowledged that neither bill had much chance of passing as Democrats still refuse to negotiate on funding even an inch of a border barrier. They rejected11 President Donald Trump’s compromise offer to extend DACA protections for three years — an immigration issue that Democrats claim to hold dear.

As the longest partial government shutdown12 in U.S. history hits Day 35, it has become increasing clear that Democrats have chosen a path of non-negotiation. By repeatedly declaring a border barrier to be “immoral,” Democrat leaders have drawn a clear line in the sand. Since this is morality itself and not just a bit of funding, they now have no room to compromise — hence the ridiculous doublespeak from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Sanctuary City of San Francisco). On the one hand, she blasts Trump for wanting a border barrier, stating13 earlier this month, “The fact is a wall is an immorality. It’s not who we are as a nation. It’s an old way of thinking.” On the other hand, just yesterday she claimed, “Democrats have always been strong about honoring our oath of office to protect and defend the American people. … Securing our borders is an important part of that.”

The irony here, as we and many others have repeatedly pointed out, is Trump’s call for a border barrier is what these same Democrats were calling for only a few years ago. So has a border barrier always been an “immorality,” or has it become one only since Trump was elected president? Obviously that’s a rhetorical question. Pelosi and company are playing politics, particularly at the expense of federal workers. As Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) recently noted, “Last week, House GOP voted to pay federal employees their 1st paycheck in 2019, despite shutdown. Only 6 Dems voted with us. It failed. Dem priority is not paying workers or opening gov’t. It is opposing Trump.” Those federal workers are missing their second check today.

Crenshaw further explained, “Democrats are not prioritizing reopening the government. They are prioritizing NOT building physical barriers as part of comprehensive border security. I think many Americans are scratching their heads wondering — why not have both?”

In this current shutdown deadlock, Mark Alexander suggests that Trump declare a national emergency and “hang it around Demo necks because they refused any negotiation to reopen government.” Indeed, given that Trump appeared to cave on the SOTU14, that may be his plan.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/60782-dems-refuse-to-negotiate-will-trump-declare-emergency

Another Nuclear Option to Clear Judicial Backlog?15

Michael Swartz

If there’s one thing President Donald Trump has been dogged about — besides feeding his Twitter habit — it’s the pace he’s kept in sending judicial nominees to the Senate. For most of the first half of his term, he was getting approvals at a blistering pace. But as the 115th Congress closed, the petulant antics of lame-duck GOP Sen. Jeff Flake left the president with dozens of nominees who didn’t get through the process. As our Thomas Gallatin wrote16 late last year, “Hopefully, with Flake gone and a larger majority, Senate Republicans can make up lost ground and get Trump’s nominees confirmed at a rapid pace.”

To that end, President Trump has renominated a slate of 51 jurists17 — including one for Brett Kavanaugh’s old seat and another for a newly created judgeship in the U.S. Court of Military Commission Review — in his latest effort to put a dent in the 140 judicial vacancies18 currently without nominees. (Six vacancies in various district courts have nominees pending.) One would think that without Flake to gum up the works and an enhanced Senate majority of 53 Republican senators — a majority that makes moderates like Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski less of an obstacle in seating conservative jurists — that Trump’s nominees would sail through.

Unfortunately, minority Democrats have found a new stalling tactic as they try to run out the clock on Trump’s term. Hot Air’s Jazz Shaw points out19, “The reason for this [delay is] the fact that Democrats are dragging their feet as much as possible and demanding a full 30 hours of allowable debate after cloture, even in cases where no serious objections have been raised and the candidate will clearly be confirmed anyway.” At 30 hours per nominee, confirmation is like pulling teeth.

Shaw further notes that when Republicans were in the minority during the Obama administration, they reached an informal agreement with Democrats to limit debate to eight hours. It’s doubtful Chuck Schumer intends to play nice like the GOP did, though.

In that same vein, Washington Examiner analyst Quin Hillyer suggests that those holdovers previously nominated be waived20 through the Senate committee process. According to Senate rules, the leadership can order that nominees bypass committee, writes Hillyer, and in this case it’s appropriate because the nominees were vetted by the previous Congress. This process wouldn’t be used for new nominees, but it could clear the backlog.