Republicans rejected Trump’s plan to get $5 billion in wall money by changing Senate rules because it is illegal.
Trump was demanding that Mitch McConnell use the nuclear option to get the wall money:
Mitch, use the Nuclear Option and get it done! Our Country is counting on you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Mitch responded with a hard no, and Senate Majority Whip Sen. John Cornyn explained why:
Plus there is a 60 vote requirement to waive a budget point of order under the Budget Act. A law, not a Senate rule or precedent. https://t.co/CKDC2iDieJ
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) December 21, 2018
NBC’s Garrett Haake added more color to the story:
Republicans rejected Trump’s plan to get $5 billion in wall money by changing Senate rules because it is illegal. https://t.co/udEOHA0NT1 pic.twitter.com/zqGdussofY
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) December 21, 2018
Trump was floating an illegal scheme to get his wall money
Part of the reason why Trump floated this plan is ignorance. He doesn’t know how the Senate or the government works. He thinks that the Republicans in the Senate can make up new rules when they want to. Trump has a very Sarah Palin grasp of how Congress operates.
The second reason is more important. Trump doesn’t care about the law. The president wants his wall money, and he sees nothing wrong with breaking the law if that is what it takes for him to keep part of his “build the wall” campaign promise. The other part of the promise is that Mexico is supposed to pay for it, which is something that Trump and Republicans never bring up anymore.
The $5 billion isn’t happening. Senate Republicans have been meeting with Trump all morning trying to get him to back off of the shutdown and support something that can actually pass Congress.
If Trump sticks to what Fox News is telling him to do, he is setting himself and the Republican Party up for a holiday disaster. Illegal schemes worked in Trump’s real estate business, but even Republicans aren’t going to get themselves implicated in Trump crimes for a wall that they don’t want.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook
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
