Graham Throws in Full Support of Trump's Wall, Gives Pelosi Ultimatum
No one could accuse Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of being a sycophant for President Donald Trump. He doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with Trump and isn’t shy about saying so.
But sometimes he does agree with him, and when he does he is also not shy about saying so. In the midst of his tweets regarding concerns over pulling out of Syria, he put out this little doozey for the Democrats:
To Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats:
No Wall Money, No Deal.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) December 28, 2018
Some people were concerned that Trump would “cave” to Democrats over the wall. But he has stood firm and now he has Graham backing him up.
According to The Hill, the battle between the Democrats and Republicans, which has already led to a partial government shutdown, may take time to end. That is because the House “passed an amended version” of the Senate’s continuing resolution providing more than $5 billion for the border wall and security.
The bill has stalled in the Senate, where The Hill reports that it does not have the support it needs to pass. Could that change?
Graham has been a senator since 2002 and was elected to the House before that. He presumably has some influence amongst his fellow members of Congress.
With him backing the president on funding and building the wall, it is possible that others in the Senate will do so as well, if he presses them on it. His Senate biography notes that he is “one of the strongest proponents of a robust national defense.”
Graham has also tied in the wall issue with the U.S. combating terrorist attacks from radical Islam. He has made the point on Twitter that the wall is part of the fight, even if it is not the “first line of defense,” it is, nonetheless, a component of it:
When it comes to radical Islam, a border wall is our last line of defense — not our first.
Our first line of defense is a forward deployed presence working with partners to disrupt enemy operations directed at our allies and homeland.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) December 27, 2018
So anyone in Congress who may be wishy-washy on immigration may be convinced to fund and build the wall if they have concerns about terrorist attacks against the United States. In 2015, The Washington Times reported that “Pakistanis with terrorist ties” were caught by agents while illegally attempting to cross the border.
Just weeks ago, The Daily Caller reported that since 2001, at least 15 known terrorists or individuals with ties to terrorism groups have been arrested attempting to illegally enter along the southern border. They added that those are only the confirmed cases.
They added that there are “thousands of so-called ‘special interest aliens’ — people from countries beset by terrorism — that are apprehended at the southern border on an annual basis.”
In addition to that, “at least 100 people on U.S. terror watch lists were intercepted at or on the way to the southwest between 2012 and 2017.”
“About half of those were stopped at the border, while the others were detained by authorities along smuggling routes in Central America and Mexico.” Graham’s point about the wall being needed to also help combat terrorism is a valid one.
When elected, members of Congress take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. In it, the power to “provide for the common defense” is given to them, the legislative branch. This would make it their duty, one they took an oath to do, to protect our borders.
Sen. Graham has shown he is willing to do his Constitutional duty. We have yet to see if others in Congress will do likewise.
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