President Trump Calls For Government Shutdown To 'Fix Mess'

WASHINGTON, DC — President Trump called for a government shutdown later this year and suggested that the Senate change its rules so it could pass legislation with no Democratic support, an indication of his growing frustration with Congress for failing to approve the highest-profile items on his agenda. The remarks appeared to be aimed at a bipartisan agreement on a spending bill to fund the government through the end of the summer that Trump had touted as a victory as Democrats celebrated the agreement as a win for their party and a capitulation by the White House.

The spending measure is expected to pass Congress this week. It includes no money for Trump's proposed wall along the Mexican border, and conservative Republicans were critical of the agreement, saying it failed to address their priorities, including the defunding Planned Parenthood.

"Trump got rolled," Charles Krauthammer, the conservative commentator, said on Fox News: "The Republicans got rolled.”

"The reason for the plan negotiated between the Republicans and Democrats is that we need 60 votes in the Senate which are not there!" the president tweeted Tuesday. "We....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!" (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch for daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Trump's call for a shutdown of the government he leads was remarkable for a sitting president and blurred efforts by the White House to portray the spending agreement as a major victory, countering the argument that Trump had been pushed into an agreement he didn't like. The president himself, in fact, praised the budget agreement after it was reached and again hours after tweeting for the government shutdown.

“This is what winning looks like," Trump said at a U.S. Air Force Academy presentation in the Rose Garden hours after his tweets about shutting down the government. He said the plan included large spending increases for the military and border security, including “enough money to make a down payment on the border wall.” (The funding bill provides no money for the wall.)

Senate rules now require 60 votes to pass most legislation. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said in the past he opposed a change. On April 7, 61 senators, including a number of Republicans, signed a letter to Senate leaders saying they opposed eliminating the 60-vote threshold.

What Will Happen If The Government Shuts Down? 7 Things To Know

Trump could cause a partial government shutdown on his own by refusing to sign a spending bill. The last government shutdown, in 2013, lasted more than two weeks. The lost productivity cost the government $2 billion and closed vital public health operations at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health.

Just last week, Trump himself seemed to think a shutdown was a bad thing:

“I hope the president does not seriously wish to have the consequences of a government shutdown resting squarely on his shoulders,” said Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), adding that the 2013 government shutdown was “a devastating blow to economic growth, amounting to an estimated $1.5 billion lost for each of the 16 days of the shutdown.”

Most Republicans in Congress seemed reluctant to back a shutdown or change the Senate rules and eager to portray the budget bill as a GOP victory. The second-ranking Republican, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, was more clear in his stance about a shutdown.

“I just don’t agree” with Trump, he told The Washington Post. He also defended the Senate rule requiring 60 votes for most legislation and said he would stop any effort to eliminate it.

“The rules have saved us from a lot of really bad policy,” Cornyn added. “We all are into short-term gratification, but it would be a mistake in the long term.”

Like the White House Patch Facebook Page.

Follow us on Twitter.

Sign up to comment on the site.

Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images News/Getty Images