Apr.27

electoral-vote.com

Dem 47

   

GOP 53

Trump Has Four Deadlines Coming Up

In addition to Iran, Donald Trump is about to get four more things on his plate in the next month:

• FISA: The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows the U.S. government to spy on foreigners without a warrant. The Act is about to expire and the spooks want it renewed. Conservatives (!) in the House want guarantees in the renewal that the government will not spy on Americans without a warrant, something guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment. The administration has no problem at all with spying on Americans, but if House conservatives refuse to budge, Trump will have a problem on his hands.
  
  
• DHS Goes Broke: Most of the government is funded, but still not DHS. Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the money to pay employees in May is not there. This means many people will be sent home, some will quit, and DHS will function even worse than it does now. Democrats are refusing to fund DHS unless certain guarantees are given regarding ICE and BCE, and Trump refuses to give them. Something has to give.
  
  
• Closing the Oil Wells: One thing the American blockade of Iranian ports has accomplished is reducing Iran's ability to export its oil. Starting now, all oil produced will have to go into storage in Iran. In about a month Iran will run out of storage capacity and will have to shut down production. Restarting it will be difficult and in some cases impossible, possibly permanently reducing world oil production—which means permanently increasing oil prices and the price of everything made from oil, from plastic to fertilizer. Does Trump really want that, when the midterms are going to be about affordability?
  
  
• Reconciliation Bill: Trump wants a reconciliation bill on his desk by June 1. If it is purely a bill to fund DHS and nothing else, he could probably get it. But he wants a number of other items in it, including the SAVE America Act (see below). Other members of Congress want other items in it. It could be a big battle and may extend into June or beyond.

Each of these issues demands attention from the President. It seems Trump isn't even able to deal with one crisis (the war in Iran) and soon he may be expected to manage five or more of them. It will interesting, to say the least, to see how he deals with all of them at once. (V)