Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer said that it doesn’t matter when Trump tries it. There will be no border wall.
Transcript via Meet The Press:
CHUCK TODD:
Is there any way you budge at all in your number on border security, on the $1.6? We know you don’t want to give him the $5. Is there anywhere in the middle here? Is there any middle ground that you would be willing to inch over to, that you think could get 60 votes in the Senate?
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER:
President Trump should understand, there are not the votes for the wall in the House or the Senate. He is not going to get the wall in any form. Even the House, which is a majority Republican, they don’t have the votes for his 5 billion dollar wall plan. In fact, Ryan, afraid of what’s going to happen, sent all the House home, until Wednesday night, a day and half before the — two days before the shutdown. And they certainly don’t have the votes in the Senate. Now, we Democrats, Leader Pelosi and I, offered the president two options as to how to avoid the shutdown. And we should not let a temper tantrum, threats, push us in the direction of doing something that everybody, even our Republican colleagues, know is wrong. Leader McConnell has said we shouldn’t shut down the government. Chairman Shelby has said we shouldn’t shut down the government.
Video:
CHUCK TODD:
I understand that —
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER:
And they should join us in one of these two proposals, which would get more than enough votes passed and avoid a shutdown. Then, if the president wants to debate the wall next year, he can. I don’t think he’ll get it. But he shouldn’t use innocent workers as hostage for his temper tantrum to sort of throw a bone to his base.
CHUCK TODD:
What you’re saying is there’s no wiggle room here. It’s those two options, or that’s it.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER:
Oh — no — well, those two options are the kinds of things that Republicans have supported in the past. And when you talk to them privately, even publicly, a lot of them have said, a CR is much preferable to a shutdown. They just have to have the guts to tell President Trump he’s off on the deep end here. And all he’s going to get, with his temper tantrum, is a shutdown. He will not get a wall.
Trump Doesn’t Have The Votes For The Wall In The House Or The Senate
When Republicans had total control of Congress, they couldn’t get the wall passed because the votes are not there. Republicans in the House and the Senate don’t want the wall. They view it as a stupid waste of money, and remember, Trump promised that Mexico would pay for the wall, so why should taxpayers get stuck with the bill because Trump lied?
Republican strategist learned from the midterm election that the wall and Trump’s immigration policies are toxic for their party. That’s why so few Republicans in Congress have come out in support of the wall.
There Will Be No Wall
Trump is terrified of running for reelection without the wall, but the reality is that there will be no wall in 2018, 2019, 2020, or ever. The wall is never going to happen, and if Trump causes a government shutdown over the wall, it will be the president and his party who pay the price with the American people, not Democrats.
Republicans are doomed, and they have ideas like Trump’s wall to thank for their impending demise.
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
