House Democrats Dump Trash From National Park Service At The White House

A duo of House Democrats brought garbage to the White House as a means of protesting the ongoing government shutdown that has hampered the National Park Service’s (NPS) ability to maintain its land.

California Democratic Reps. Jared Huffman and Jackie Speier delivered bins of trash to the White House’s front gates on Tuesday donning the words “Trump’s Trash.” With the help of volunteers, the Bay Area congressmen gathered the garbage from two sites at Golden Gate National Recreation Area over the weekend and flew it across the country to Washington D.C., reported The Hill.

“Mr. Trump, here’s your trash,” Speier said in front of reporters. “We did the work of some of your employees at the National Park Service, who by the way, in our area, have a hard time making it because it’s such a high-cost area.”

The Republican-led House passed a stopgap funding bill on Dec. 20 that included appropriations to construct a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. However, with a 51-seat majority, Senate Republicans fell short of the necessary 60 votes needed to send it to President Donald Trump’s desk for signature. Consequently, a government shutdown has been in effect since funding expired Dec. 21.

Most of the land that falls under the NPS’s jurisdiction has remained open to visitors in spite of the shutdown, but maintenance and upkeep services have been suspended. As a result, sewage and rubbish have been mounting around the parks and monuments, despite volunteers assisting in the clean up.

“[The Trump shutdown] is causing trash to literally pile up in our #nationalparks. Glad to join @RepSpeier yesterday in doing our small part to pick up #trumptrash,” Huffman tweeted on Sunday. “@realDonaldTrump must end this callous shutdown now.”

.#TrumpShutdown is causing trash to literally pile up in our #nationalparks. Glad to join @RepSpeier yesterday in doing our small part to pick up #trumptrash.@realDonaldTrump must end this callous shutdown now #protectourparks pic.twitter.com/5VjOuuGqDg

— Rep. Jared Huffman (@RepHuffman) January 6, 2019

“Let it never be said that I didn’t give anything to Donald Trump,” Huffman said while delivering the garbage. “Because today I am bringing boxes of trash … to provide a reality check to the president so that he understands that his political stunt in shutting down the government over the border wall has real-world consequences.”

Democratic leaders have pledged not to appropriate a single dollar towards funding a wall while Republican leaders maintain they will not advance any funding bills that omit Trump’s demand for border security.