By: Alyson CroseCalifornia representative Nancy Pelosi was elected House speaker on Thurs., Jan 3, 2019, after a majority vote from the 116th Congress. With 220 votes, Pelosi defeated her Republican opponent Kevin McCarthy, reclaiming the title she previously held from 2007 to 2011 where she was elected the first ever female House speaker. Pelosi’s election, along with a historical Congress that is more diverse than any before it, is likely to make waves in Trump’s White House, where Republicans have held the majority since Trump’s inauguration in 2017.
The Democratic Representative of California’s 12th District has consistently supported clean energy, crime reform and gun control reform. Seemingly most important right now, however, is the largely debated border wall that has led to the current partial government shutdown. With President Trump adamant in his demands for a $5.6 billion budget dedicated to constructing a massive wall along the U.S.-Mexican border, the government has been partially shut down for weeks. Trump has gone as far as to threaten the declaration of a national emergency in order to get around it. Pelosi told interviewers that “We’re not doing a wall. Does anyone have any doubt that we’re not doing a wall?” As Speaker Pelosi and the numerous other democrats that make up the majority of Congress battle Trump’s wall, the U.S. government remains in a partial government shutdown .Going into the new year, Pelosi plans to shine a light on climate change as well as income inequality. However, the primary focus for all members of government right now is ending the shutdown. While it is evident that 2019 will pose a year of many standoffs between the Democratic majority now controlling Congress and Trump’s right-wing policies, Nancy Pelosi’s leadership is likely to guide Congress in a new direction, one more progressive and revolutionary than any before it. And as the shutdown drags on to potentially become the longest in U.S. history, all of America is paying the price. Thousands of U.S. government employees are being laid off or are expected to work without pay, and many Americans are at risk of the government aid, such as welfare or food stamps, that they rely on being limited. Many government employees are receiving a pay stub that presents a zero dollar net pay, including one air traffic controller for Newark International Airport in New Jersey. This has led to numerous protests of airport employees as they are continuously expected to work without pay until the government reopens, putting the safety of many American airports at risk.
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