Leid Stories--Pelosi Gets House Speaker Spot, Immediately Shafts Progressives' Agenda; Trump Relentlessly Pursues Border Wall Win Amid His Policy Shifts--01.03.19

Summary: The 116th Congress opened today with a Democratic majority in the House and longtime party leader Nancy Pelosi, a  congresswoman from California, in the coveted spot as Speaker. Progressive legislators were stunned to learn that among the first things Pelosi and her team did was kill their proposals for changing some procedural rules so that major social-service programs can be funded. Mounting opposition to his $5-billion border wall with Mexico is not stopping President Donald Trump In his relentless pursuit of his dream project. Is the spare-no-expense wall an urgent matter of "national security," as Trump contends, or are there other reasons for pushing for this massive construction project?