It’s time, Democrats in Congress, to hold the Trump budget hostage
President Donald Trump is out of control and needs to be reminded, without further delay, that we have three co-equal branches of government before he does any more irreparable harm to our country and the free world.
As you have no doubt heard by now, President Trump has “paused” all aid to Ukraine. The announcement came yesterday, after the evening rush hour in the United States and in the middle of the night in Europe. It’s a coward’s play, the timing of the announcement that is, to minimize exposure in the media by basically whispering news of such a major action when political leaders here and abroad have gone home for the day.
Let me get right to the point. So, Trump likes chaos. More to the point, Trump thinks he’s in control – and that Congress is irrelevant. Turns out that Donald is the wannabe dictator, not Putin, that we should be worried about.
Okay, fine. Let’s give him a taste of what chaos is really like. What I’m recommending is that Democrats in the House and Senate hold the Trump budget hostage until Congress passes a law ordering President Trump to fund Ukraine at the maximum levels already approved by Congress. Funding should proceed without delay and cannot be subject to any conditions that do not presume that Russia pulls out of Ukraine territory seized during the current conflict and from Crimea which Russia took from Ukraine in 2014.
The reality for the United States and Europe is that Putin has to be the clear loser in negotiations for peace. He stole something that wasn’t his for the taking. Now he has to give it back. Putin needs to understand, in no uncertain terms, that this point about restoring all Russian-occupied territory to Ukraine is not negotiable. If Trump isn’t willing to make this point clear – to Putin, China and our allies in Europe – it falls to Congress to send this message directly from the American people who favor continuing support for Ukraine by a significant majority.
It’s time to do for the Democracy of Ukraine what we would do, hypothetically speaking, were Russia were to, for example, invade Alaska.
Word is that President Trump is preparing to lift sanctions on Russia, no strings attached, the effect of which will be to better enable Putin to fund his illegal war. How is that a means of pressuring Putin to agree to a peace that makes any sense? That doesn’t further encourage Russian imperialism in Europe. We can always agree to lifting sanctions later, as a condition for his returning seized portions of Ukraine to its people – having put appropriate security guarantees in place to make sure this never happens again.
So, the Democrats hold the Trump budget hostage. No budget. No Trump tax relief for the wealthiest Americans. And no ordinary continuing resolution. If Trump won’t cooperate, let the government shutdown. The only continuing resolution the Democrats should agree to pass is legislation protecting government employee salaries during the shutdown that they’ll receive when it’s over, the payment of government bills that are due and interest payments on the national debt. I’m talking about a shutdown that is intended to get Trump’s attention without risking a default or causing undo, long-term harm to innocent government employees.
Will Trump blame the Democrats? Absolutely, but no one will care. He’s no longer the Leader of the Free World, a well-deserved demotion. Now let him be President of nothing but empty government offices nationwide.
My apologies to federal government employees everywhere – including, not incidentally, members of my own family and friends – but it’s high time the Democratic party stood up to the bully in the Oval Office.
ATTN: Congress. President Trump cannot be allowed to continue to do whatever he damn well pleases. A shutdown won’t be pretty, but it’s got to be done. The bully in The White House has effectively slapped you and our allies in the face, again and again. The world, your children and history are watching and wondering what you’re going to do. The situation is dire. Your silence is deafening and making you Trump’s de facto partner in everything he’s doing. If you, Democrats in Congress, can’t get the support of even a relatively few Republicans to fund Ukraine, let the government close. Make the Republicans in the House and Senate who agree with you demonstrate the courage to go public with their dissent.
If you don’t agree with me, speak up. That’s what the comment form at the bottom of this op/ed is for. If you do agree, don’t waste time telling me. Call or email your Congressmen and women in the House and Senators. Tell them, “No money for Ukraine, no budget.” They’ll know what they have to do.
Les Cohen is a long-term Marylander, having grown up in Annapolis. Professionally, he writes and edits materials for business and political clients from his base of operations in Columbia, Maryland. He has a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Economics. Leave a comment or feel free to send him an email to [email protected].