Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., on Wednesday denied the idea that his party wanted a government shutdown after a Trump administration official suggested they did on Tuesday.
"I don't think there's any Democrat who wanted a shutdown," Coons said on CNN, according to the Washington Examiner. "What we wanted was what we got — a good, balanced, bipartisan negotiation."
White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said Tuesday that President Donald Trump's tweet calling for a "good" shutdown was the result of Democratic legislators who wanted a shutdown to "make this administration look like it couldn't function.
"I think the president is frustrated with the fact that he negotiated in good faith with the Democrats, and they went out to try and spike the football and make him look bad," Mulvaney added, suggesting Democrats were trying to claim victory over budget negotiations, according to CNBC. "And I get that frustration, because I think it's a terrible posture for the Democrats to take. … It doesn't surprise me at all that his frustrations were manifested in that way."
Coons called this accusation "silly," saying "the president ought to be taking a victory lap and saying that he played a role in getting a great deal done instead of having his [Office of Management and Budget] director wag his finger at Democrats and say we were lusting after a shutdown. I just think it's silly."
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