Trump said Democrats “could have easily made a deal but decided to play Shutdown politics instead.” In a series of tweets hours after the shutdown began, the president tried to make the case for Americans to elect more Republicans to Congress in November “in order to power through this mess.” He noted that there are 51 Republicans in the 100-member Senate, and it often takes 60 votes to advance legislation.
The stopgap measure won 50 votes in the Senate, including five Democrats.
Trump and Schumer tried to cut a last-minute deal that would have included greater military spending and money for a wall along the Mexican border. But the talks fell apart almost as abruptly as they started.
Trump had been set to leave Friday afternoon for a fundraiser at his estate in Palm Beach, Florida, where he intended to mark the inauguration anniversary. But he remained in Washington and ended up scrapping his plans to attend the Saturday fundraiser.
The last shutdown came in 2013. Tea party Republicans, in a strategy not unlike the one Schumer is employing now, sought to use a must-pass budget bill to try to force President Barack Obama to delay implementation of his health care law. At the time, Trump told “Fox & Friends” that the ultimate blame for a shutdown lies at the top. “I really think the pressure is on the president,” he said.
