McConnell Slams Pelosi’s Shutdown Package, Will Reject Any Proposals Trump Won’t Sign
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Thu, 01/03/2019
As the partial government shutdown enters its 13th day, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says he won’t entertain any proposals from the Democrat-controlled House that President Trump won’t sign.
McConnell was responding to a government funding package pushed by Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) aimed at resolving the shutdown, which contained no provisions to fund President Trump’s border wall.
The sharp impasse comes after a bipartisan meeting with the president on Wednesday aimed to restarting moribund negotiations. But Trump dismissed Pelosi’s plan and said he would look “foolish” for reopening government departments unrelated to the immigration dispute, leaving the new divided Congress opening in a state of remarkable gridlock.
“We want the president to open up the government. We are giving him a Republican path to do that, why would he not do it?” Pelosi implored the president after the meeting. -Politico
According to McConnell, the shutdown could drag on for “weeks,” while the Senate Majority Leader dismissed Pelosi’s bill as political theater despite some Senate Republicans endorsing a stopgap bill without wall funding provisions as recently as last month.
“Will these new Democrats come to Washington ready to roll up their sleeves, work together and make laws? Or are they going to waste time on partisan show votes that will do nothing to move the country forward?” McConnell asked on Wednesday night. “Let me make this perfectly clear: The Senate will not waste its time considering a Democrat bill which cannot pass this chamber and which the president will not sign,” he added.
While discussions over the shutdown are at an impasse, the two sides have agreed to keep talking – for now. Congressional legislators have been invited to another White House discussion on Friday, while President Trump noted after Wednesday’s unsuccessful meeting that he is “ready and willing to work with Democrats to pass a bill that secures our borders.”
That said, Trump laid into Democrats over Twitter on Thursday, tweeting: “The Shutdown is only because of the 2020 Presidential Election. The Democrats know they can’t win based on all of the achievements of “Trump,” so they are going all out on the desperately needed Wall and Border Security – and Presidential Harassment. For them, strictly politics!”
The Rest…HERE
