Several Senate Republicans made clear they aren’t on board with President Donald Trump’s enthusiastic call to shut down the government over his demand for a southern border wall.
“It’s a fool’s errand in my opinion,” said Senator Shelley Moore Capito, a West Virginia Republican who represents a state Trump won by 42 percentage points in 2016. She co-authored a compromise plan on border security funding and said she is deeply concerned about the shutdown threat.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expressed his unease, telling reporters he is “hoping for a Christmas miracle” to resolve Trump’s impasse with Democrats over the wall.
“One thing that’s pretty clear no matter who precipitates a government shutdown, the American people don’t like it” McConnell said.
Trump said during a White House meeting with top Democrats earlier in the day that he would be “proud” to shut down the government if Congress doesn’t provide $5 billion on the border wall he promised in his presidential campaign. “I will be the one to shut it down,” he added, “I’m not going to blame you for it.”
That stance didn’t sit well with Senator John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican.
“Life’s hard, but it’s harder if you’re stupid,” Kennedy told reporters. “I think we ought to surprise ourselves and do something intelligent and work it out.” He added that he wasn’t calling the president stupid.
Trump’s top allies are sticking with him. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who has positioned himself as Trump’s best friend in the Senate, expressed his support.
“I’m going to stand by President Trump. He needs to dig in, not give in. Let’s take this to the public and see what happens,” Graham said.
Without a new spending bill, about 25 percent of the $1.2 trillion federal operating budget will expire after Dec. 21.