National Public Radio reports that the following federal government programs are now shut down or curtailed:

• Food and Drug Administration food inspections, putting the food supply and American lives at risk;

• Immigration courts, which provide a highly effective way to fix the problem the president claims he wants to fix;

• E-Verify, which prevents immigrants from working in the U.S. illegally;

• Air quality monitoring/reporting by the Environmental Protection Agency;

• Federal Aviation Administration plane inspections, due to reduced number of inspectors on duty, again, putting American lives at risk.

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On the other hand, the administration has promised not to delay processing of tax refunds, which puts an understaffed Internal Revenue Service at much greater risk of paying fraudulent claims.

Last, but definitely not least, the observation deck and clock tower of the Old Post Office Building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, which is located in the Trump International Hotel but controlled by the National Park Service (as part of the hotel lease agreement), remains open and staffed by federally-funded park rangers.

That neatly sums up the president’s actual No. 1 priority, which is not border security.

Richard Whiting, Auburn


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