Cracks in the Trump wall

Republican Rep. Will Hurd (Texas) is pushing back on President Trump's claims of a crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, calling the hype around illegal border crossings a “myth.”

"It is a myth," Hurd told Rolling Stone in an interview published Friday. He also called Trump’s long-desired border wall a “third-century solution to a 21st-century problem.”

“What I always say is building a wall from sea to shining sea is the most expensive and least effective way to do border security,” Hurd said.

Hurd, a former undercover CIA officer, is the only lawmaker representing a border district who is a Republican. His district is one of the largest in the country, with the Texas 23rd Congressional District including 820 miles of border between San Antonio and El Paso.

The Republican lawmaker told the outlet if there was a crisis of illegal border crossings, the “first step” should be paying the officials dealing with it.

  The Hill

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees at Pittsburgh International Airport held a protest on Friday demanding an end to the government shutdown, which has forced TSA officials to work without pay.

[...]

"They've already missed a paycheck on Jan. 11, and they're about to miss a paycheck on Jan, 25 and I wonder how secure is the government going to be or the airports going to be when these people can't come to work anymore, can't afford gas, can't afford to pay their bills?" Phil Glover, national vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees, told Pittsburgh Action News.

"It's time for the Senate to call a vote, and that's what we need them to do," he added.

[...]

Photos of the protest obtained by local news stations showed dozens of TSA employees with signs calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to hold votes on bills passed by the House to reopen parts of the government.

[...]

The partial government shutdown stretched into its 28th day on Friday, with no resolution in sight.

  The Hill

And it IS Mitch McConnell to blame. Any excuse about a Presidential veto is just an excuse. Congress can override a veto. It's McConnell who's the roadblock.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.