Progress on resolving the government shutdown came when Republican Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) convinced Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to abandon Donald Trump.

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NBC’s Kasie Hunt reported, “Senators Jeff Flake and Lindsey Graham have been leading the high stakes game of shuttle diplomacy inside the U.S. Capital. With Mcconnell and Schumer barely speaking through the weekend, Graham and Flake have been trying to find a way out of the mess by convincing Mcconnell to all but abandon the president.”

Flake told reporters, “We can’t anymore, you know, say that we’ll only move forward if the president moves forward. And if he’s with us. We just can’t do that. This president has changed his mind several times on this, I will say that.”

Graham said, “Somebody’s got to lead. The White House staff has been pretty unreliable. The House is locked down. So, I think the Senate is the best body to lead the country to a result.”

McConnell realized that Trump is never going to lead

Republicans and the country were going to be waiting forever if they were waiting for Trump to lead. Trump was never going to step up and make a deal with Democrats on DACA because it has always been his intention to deport the Dreamers. The House might be able to get the votes needed for any agreement that the Senate negotiates. There is much more support for DACA among Republicans in the Senate than there is among Republicans in the House, but the big news here is that McConnell was convinced that the only way out of this government shutdown mess was to dump Trump.

If the Senate comes up with a deal, it will be because Republicans came to their senses and starting blocking out the constant noise that is Donald Trump.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association