Sec. Zinke Will Spend The Government Shutdown Ensuring The WWII Memorial, National Parks, Stay Open

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The government might be shut down Saturday morning, but that did not stop Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke from doing his job.

Early in the morning, Zinke could be found cleaning up trash on the National Mall and welcoming tours of schoolchildren to the World War II memorial with a smile.

“We’re not putting up barricades,” Zinke told The Daily Caller in an interview. “Absolutely not. We’re passing out brochures until we run out of brochures. I’ll be out here everyday.”

Zinke, and much of the federal government, has had the vast majority of staff furloughed due to the government shutdown.

In the first hours of the government shutdown Secretary Zinke was making plans for how to keep America’s public parks open. In the early hours of Saturday morning, Zinke met with public affairs and maintenance staff to run through a plan to keep memorials on the National Mall open. He then spoke with garbagemen who will be picking up trash on the Mall one last time before the city of D.C. takes over for them.

Zinke then got into his car and drove to the WWII memorial to greet visitors and hand out maps and helped with directions. “I spent the morning walking around, giving brochures out,” Zinke said. “I got a lot of thanks from both sides of the aisle. We will not weaponize our public lands.” – READ MORE

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In a memo to agency employees, Mattis explained his high expectations for the military during an event that will constrain the U.S. armed forces.

“We will continue to execute daily operations around the world – ships and submarines will remain at sea, our aircraft will continue to fly and our warfighters will continue to pursue terrorists throughout the Middle East, Africa and South Asia,” Mattis said. “While training for reservists must be curtailed, active forces will stay at their posts adapting their training to achieve the least negative impact on our readiness to fight.”

While the shutdown will halt paychecks for troops, cause furloughs for civilian Defense Department workers, and cause disruption for the military, Mattis pledged his “personal commitment that the department’s leadership will do our best to mitigate the impacts of the disruptions and any financial burdens to you and your families.”

“Steady as she goes – hold the line. I know our nation can count on you,” Mattis said, adding, “Stay alert” just before his signature. – READ MORE

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White House officials insisted there will be no negotiations on including DACA amnesty into the government funding resolution despite Senate Democrats’ shutdown of the government on Saturday.

“We will not negotiate over the status of people here unlawfully while Democrats shut down the government of the millions who are here lawfully,” a White House aide told Breitbart News on Saturday.

White House director of Legislative Affairs Marc Short and White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney confirmed the sentiment in a briefing with reporters at the White House.

Short said that while they were open to further discussions on a DACA deal, they did not want a deal attached to the continuing resolution to fund the government.

“[W]e’re not going to be held hostage and let our troops be held hostage over this,” he said. “When they reopen the government, we will continue the discussions.”

Short said that Trump’s success in his first year as president was partially what prompted Democrats to shut down the government, accusing them of trying to impress leftist activists. – READ MORE

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