On Tuesday morning, Trump said a shutdown is necessary for Republicans to negotiate with Democrats on a spending bill next September after the current spending bill runs its course. He argued that the government closure would help to clean up the āmessā in Washington, D.C., either by prompting Senate Republicans to scrap the legislative filibusterās 60-vote threshold ā something many GOP lawmakers oppose ā or by boosting the Republicans in the 2018 congressional elections.
The reason for the plan negotiated between the Republicans and Democrats is that we need 60 votes in the Senate which are not there! Weā¦.
ā Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2017
either elect more Republican Senators in 2018 or change the rules now to 51%. Our country needs a good "shutdown" in September to fix mess!
ā Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2017
President Trump talks with reporters as he walks to the Oval Office on May 2.
Trumpās comments came in the aftermath of a congressional deal on a continuing resolution to keep the government funded through September. And Democrats secured a number of wins at Trumpās expense. The bipartisan, $1 trillion spending bill stipulates that none of the money can go toward constructing Trumpās promised U.S.-Mexico border wall. The legislators also rejected most of Trumpās proposed cuts to the nationās nonmilitary spending.
Amid criticism from some conservatives over the deal, Trump argued that Republicans gave the concessions to Democrats because they didnāt have enough senatorial votes to go it alone. An alternative to scrapping the filibuster, Trump suggested, was for voters to elect more Republicans to the Senate in the 2018 midterms. Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration at Congress for not quickly embracing his legislative agenda. In a recent interview, Trump denounced the rules of Congress as āunbelievably archaic and slow-moving,ā and he called Democrats ātotally obstructionistā at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. Nevertheless, he said, Republicans would win the āgreat battlesā ahead.
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