Rice expert available to discuss possible compromise on border security

Rice University
Office of Public Affairs / News & Media Relations
EXPERT ALERT

Amy McCaig
713-348-6777
amym@rice.edu

Rice expert available to discuss possible compromise on border security

HOUSTON – (Feb. 13, 2019) – As the clock counts down toward another government shutdown, President Donald Trump reportedly may compromise on a border security deal. Rice University political scientist Paul Brace is available to comment on the situation.

Paul Brace. Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University.

An agreement must be reached by the end of Friday between the House of Representatives and the Senate — and signed by the president — to avoid a partial shutdown beginning on Saturday.

“As the last shutdown taught us, another government shutdown would be bad — and not just for the finances of hundreds of thousands of federal workers and contractors,” said Brace, the Clarence L. Carter Professor of Political Science in Rice’s School of Social Sciences.

Although media reports suggest Trump will approve the proposed deal, he is also reportedly still weighing his funding options for building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“As it stands, the President may sign a bill that is less favorable to him than the legislation he rejected in December, signaling a defeat for the president,” Brace said. “He may now be forced to augment these funds by scavenging from other sources through executive actions. This could include declaring a national emergency, which will inevitably end up in the courts.”

Brace is widely published in the areas of U.S. politics and judicial decision-making. He comments regularly on presidential politics, the judiciary and the U.S. government. For more information on Brace, visit http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~pbrace/. To schedule an interview, contact him directly at 832-628-5285.

Rice University has a VideoLink ReadyCam TV interview studio. ReadyCam is capable of transmitting broadcast-quality standard-definition and high-definition video directly to all news media organizations around the world 24/7.

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Related materials:

Paul Brace bio: https://politicalscience.rice.edu/paul-brace

Paul Brace headshot: https://news.rice.edu/files/2019/02/190204_-Brace_fitlow_029-1exe76e.jpg

Photo credit: Rice University

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