WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) issued the following statement after President Trump addressed the nation on the 18th day of the Trump shutdown. Udall spoke on the Senate floor today calling for President Trump and Senate Republicans to end the shutdown immediately.
“President Trump needs to end his shutdown now, before his reckless tantrum hurts more New Mexico families. New Mexicans didn’t hear anything new tonight from the president. Instead, they just heard more fear-mongering about immigrants, and dishonest and out-of-touch talk about the border from a president who doesn’t know the first thing about border communities. The president certainly did not provide struggling New Mexicans with any good reason for why he continues to hold their livelihoods hostage to try and force taxpayers to pay for his offensive border wall. At the very least, the president could have apologized to the innocent people who have been caught up in his mess – but he didn’t do that either.
“Eighteen days into this Trump shutdown, families all across New Mexico are paying a steep price for the president’s act of political extortion. Over 5,800 workers in New Mexico are furloughed or working without pay, many of them wondering how they’ll make their next mortgage or rent payment. Lives in Tribal communities are being endangered as critical public health and public safety programs grind to a halt. Many of our most iconic national parks remain closed or badly neglected – as waste and garbage pile up – threatening not just these special places but also the economies that depend on them. These are the real and devastating consequences of President Trump’s shutdown.
“There are serious humanitarian issues that exist at our border, but the president’s heartless and chaotic policies have only made them worse – much worse — while demonizing immigrants who are vital members of our workforce and our communities. And President Trump’s thoughtless demands for an ineffective border wall would do nothing to make our nation safer or more secure, which is why New Mexico’s border communities and broad majorities of Americans reject the president’s wall. It is time for Senate Republicans to end this ridiculous Trump shutdown, stand up to the president’s governance-by-extortion, and pass the clear bipartisan solutions that Democrats have offered to re-open the government.”
