Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019 | 2 a.m.
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In response to the Jan. 29 letter “Why suddenly an emergency?” and countless members of the news media, let me explain why President Donald Trump didn’t pass border security funding during the first two years of his presidency.
Although Trump and the Republican Party controlled both the House and the Senate, they would have needed 60 votes to pass wall funding in the Senate. The Republicans held a 51-49 edge in the Senate, and did not have the support of enough Democratic senators to pass it.
This is similar to the narrative put out that President Barack Obama had total control of the House and Senate for his first two years of his presidency. In reality, the Democrats had a majority 57 Senate seats, along with two Independents (Bernie Sanders and Joe Lieberman) who could be relied on to vote with them. (After a protracted legal fight, Sen. Al Franken was seated to give Democrats a filibuster-proof majority, but Sen. Ted Kennedy died less than two months later, dropping Democrats back under the 60-vote threshold.)
So neither Trump nor Obama had the supermajority required to pass anything they wanted.
Politicians and pundits will say anything to further their own agenda. Don’t believe everything you hear on TV, radio, or out of the mouths of public servants. They all serve themselves, and truly believe that the ends justify the means.
