Trump on Twitter: Country needs a ‘good shutdown’
President Donald Trump voices his displeasure over the $1 trillion budget deal for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2017 and suggests a shutdown might be in order if...
President Donald Trump took to Twitter Tuesday to voice his displeasure over the compromise budget deal Democratic and Republican lawmakers hammered out over the weekend to fund the government through September.
The $1 trillion deal taps the brakes on military downsizing and saved some civilian agencies from most of the $18 billion in cuts the administration called for in March.
Trump laid the blame for the compromised budget on the fact that Republicans don’t have a great enough majority in Congress to pass his budget unaltered.
The reason for the plan negotiated between the Republicans and Democrats is that we need 60 votes in the Senate which are not there! We….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2017
He then suggested that shutdown might be a good thing.
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2017
Trump’s tweets and call for a shutdown elicited a quick response some lawmakers.
“I am appalled that President Trump tweeted this morning that he wants the government to shut down,” House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said in a statement. “Funding our government is not a game, where one side wins and the other side loses. A shutdown is not a political football to be tossed around so casually as the President did today.
“This President is unlike any other we’ve had before, one who speaks disparagingly of the very constitutional checks and balances he’s sworn to defend, who contradicts himself nearly every day on almost every issue, breaking one promise after the next to the voters who elected him. Tweets like this one, all too common now, are destabilizing and demonstrate dysfunction that sends the wrong signal to our allies and adversaries alike about how the American government is now run. The President would be well served to stop tweeting and start governing in earnest.”
Hoyer’s statement was echoed by other Democratic lawmakers on Twitter.
A good shutdown? A reckless statement from the guy sworn to protect the United States. https://t.co/66xxMaG3uR
— Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) May 2, 2017
#Trump advocates for a shutdown in September. The last gov. shutdown cost taxpayers $24 billion. @GOP controls gov., they are the mess. #Sad pic.twitter.com/mZYrxE0su0
— Rep. Brad Sherman (@BradSherman) May 2, 2017
.@RepLindaSanchez: Republicans must stop playing games with the threat of a government shutdown. Watch live: https://t.co/6CEjv1wk5A pic.twitter.com/g4QrFnGmtm
— House Democrats (@HouseDemocrats) May 2, 2017
How could a shutdown be good, with parks closed, gov’t services unavailable and people furloughed? Answer: Golf at Mar-a-lago unaffected. pic.twitter.com/wUxImQJfUq
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) May 2, 2017
Elsewhere on Twitter, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) touted some of the highlights of the budget deal.
Here are six big things this funding bill does for the country, starting with securing our borders. pic.twitter.com/5P7rwxfuaw
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) May 2, 2017
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Michael O'Connell
Michael O’Connell is senior digital editor of Federal News Network optimizing content for the best user experience. Follow @moconnellWFED
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