At a contentious televised White House meeting Tuesday, President Trump threatened to shut down the government in the name of getting funding for his wall along the southern border, a campaign promise that he has long claimed would be paid for by Mexico. Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer responded that the president would not get such a concession, with Schumer describing the president’s actions as a “temper tantrum.” Trump needs to sign off on a budget bill by Dec. 21 to avoid a government shutdown. Meanwhile, the president also floated the idea on Twitter of using the U.S. military to build the wall, a proposal that would raise questions regarding legality and potential misuse of executive power.
Jim Braude was joined by Joanna Weiss, editor of Experience Magazine at Northeastern University and Charlie Chieppo, senior fellow at the Pioneer Institute and former policy director for Gov. Mitt Romney.