Recess, the Magic Sharpie, and a Job Still Incomplete

My fellow Democrats,

As you head home for your “well-deserved” recess—and make your rounds in front of TV cameras to declare “victory” over Republicans for finally ending the partial shutdown—please keep a few things in mind:

1. If the President and his magic Sharpie had the power to simply sign an executive order to pay TSA agents, why wasn’t that done weeks ago?

2. Are the powers of this magic Sharpie limited? Why would this so-called solution apply only to TSA?

Why not the Coast Guard, FEMA staff, CISA personnel, and the thousands of other essential workers who showed up every day without a paycheck?

3. Does the Sharpie only work when the consequences are visible, like long airport lines and bad TV footage?

I ask, because it increasingly looks like relief came not when workers needed it most, but when the optics became impossible to ignore.

And finally…

As you head home for your precious recess, don’t over-celebrate. This is, at best, a partial victory.

The underlying issue hasn’t been resolved. Reforms to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)…the very issue at the center of this shutdown—remain unfinished.

So take the win if you must. But be mindful of the pain it cost to thousands pf individuals, and be honest about what it is:

Incomplete. Temporary. And far from over.