WH on shutdown 'win': Dems backed themselves into a corner
Director of legislative affairs Marc Short speaks out on why Senate Democrats backed off their opposition.
President Trump struck an optimistic tone on Twitter after he signed a bill to reopen the government late Monday night after a 69-hour federal government shutdown that led to Senate Democrats backing off their opposition.
Earlier in the day, Congress agreed on a measure that will fund the government for three weeks. The agreement will keep the government funded until Feb. 8.
“Big win for Republicans as Democrats cave on Shutdown,” Trump tweeted, after he kept a low profile during the weekend. “Now I want a big win for everyone, including Republicans, Democrats and DACA, but especially for our Great Military and Border Security. Should be able to get there. See you at the negotiating table.”
Some items on the top of the agenda are Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and border security. Trump has said he wants a deal in place to legalize the country's 700,000 Dreamers.
Despite getting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky., to allow debate on the immigration issue, Democrats faced immediate backlash within their own ranks for not pushing harder on the immigration law.
“Nor did they get a promise that the Senate will approve their desired change, nor did they get any commitment from House Republicans to do anything at all,” James Freeman wrote in The Wall Street Journal.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who backed Monday's agreement during a speech on the chamber's floor, was criticized for his handling of the negotiations.
Schumer was seen by some centrists in the party as putting too much emphasis on immigration, while those on the left blamed him for agreeing to the deal without a DACA win.
"Now there is a real pathway to get a bill on the floor and through the Senate," Schumer said of legislation to halt any deportation efforts aimed at the younger immigrants.
Ezra Levin, the co-executive director of the activist group Indivisible, told Politico that Schumer’s job was to “keep his caucus together” and “he didn’t do it.”
Cristina Jimenez, the executive director of United We Dream, said the members of the group are "outraged." She added that senators who voted Monday in favor of the deal "are not resisting Trump, they are enablers."
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., told Politico, Schumer is "doing a great job under very difficult circumstances."
Earlier, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told The Journal that Democrats did not have the public's support during negotiations and were being blamed for the shutdown. He said he believed Democrats “overgamed” the gridlock.
“I think they gambled and didn’t win. Nobody wins when the government shuts down,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal, in an editorial titled, “Chuck Schumer, Shut Down,” wrote that the New York Democrat exposed his colleauges running for re-election in "Trump states" to “placate his progressive base, and then he caved on the shutdown and ended up with the approval of neither.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
