Tipsheet

President Trump: It's Up to Democrats Whether We Have a Shutdown; We're Prepared for a Long One

Katie Pavlich
Katie Pavlich  |  December 21, 2018 1:05 PM

Speaking from the White House Friday afternoon after a meeting with Senate Republicans, President Trump argued it's up to Democrats to prevent a government shutdown in less than 12 hours. 

"It's up to the [Senate] Democrats as to whether or not we have a shutdown tonight," Trump said. "We are going to be working very hard to get something passed in the Senate."

"It's possible we'll have a shut down, I'd say the chances are very good," Trump said. "This is an issue of safety, of crime...the wall will pay for itself on a monthly basis."

President Trump said he wants to avoid a shutdown, but is willing to push through if Democrats don't act. He made the same case this morning on Twitter. 

"We're totally prepared for a very long shutdown," he said.

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Late Thursday night the House passed a new funding bill that includes $5.7 billion for border security and the wall, blowing Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's assertions it wouldn't happen out of the water. 

On the Senate floor earlier, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell laid out the case for funding border security and said he is proud to vote for the current bill. 

“In my view, this is legislation that would be quite uncontroversial in a more normal political moment -- in a moment when both parties put the obvious national interest ahead of any personal spite for the president. I support the additional border security and disaster aid that the House added to the bill and I will proudly vote for it," McConnell said. “It’s not a radical concept that the American people’s government should be able to control the people and goods that flow into our country. It’s not a radical concept that physical barriers play an important role in achieving security -- unless there’s a caucus of lawmakers who go to bed at night with their front doors wide open that I’m not aware of."

"What is radical, what is way out of the mainstream, is this absurd premise of the open-borders Far Left that achieving basic stability and law enforcement on our Southern border is somehow -- in itself -- uncompassionate, or discriminatory, or immoral," he continued. 

Meanwhile, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer still isn't cooperating.