Mulvaney: Dems Sought Making Trump Look Bad With Shutdown

A fired-up Mick Mulvaney addressed President Donald Trump's $1 trillion spending deal during Tuesday's White House press briefing, saying the White House and the Republican-controlled Congress were going against a Democratic Party that was looking for a government shutdown.

"They wanted a shutdown – we know that," said Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget. "They were desperate to make this administration look like we could not function, like we could not govern. And we know that a large part of their base, especially the left-wing base, wanted a shutdown, and certainly did not want them to cut a deal with us."

Mulvaney began his appearance in front of the feisty White House press corps by saying it was his 19th wedding anniversary.

"Believe me, I wish I were home and not here, as much as I enjoy you people," he said.

He then faced rapid-fire questioning from reporters, which he answered with his own quick-hitting responses that criticized Democrats and vigorously defended the Trump administration.

A few highlights from Mulvaney's remarks:

• Mulvaney said the Trump administration was able to get $21 billion in new defense spending for less than $5 billion in non-defense spending. Part of that money, he said, will go toward building a new wall along America's southern border to replace temporary chain-link fencing.
  • "There are several hundreds of millions of dollars for us to replace cyclone fencing with a 20-foot high steel wall," said Mulvaney, who added later construction is ongoing.
• Mulvaney was also asked why a steel fence with see-through gaps was chosen over a solid wall.
  • "It is actually safer for our Border Patrol agents — you can talk to the DHS about the details, but there has been a dramatic reduction in attacks on our Border Patrol agents where they can see through the wall because no one is throwing anything over the top at them," he said. "It is also half of the cost, so we can build twice as much of it. This is a huge win for border security."
• Regarding Trump's Tuesday morning tweet that called for a "good shutdown" of the government in September, Mulvaney said shutting down the federal government is not what politicians are trying to do.
  • "It's not a goal; it's not a negotiating tool," he said. "To the extent the president advocated for one today, it would be one that fixes this town. One that drives the message back home to people that it was as broken as they thought that it was when they voted for Donald Trump. If that's what is necessary to do to fix Washington, D.C., that would be a good shutdown."
• Mulvaney addressed discussions in the Trump administration about defunding Planned Parenthood. Republicans, including Trump, have called for the roughly $500 million the government gives the organization every year to go away because it provides abortions.
  • "What we simply decided was look, if you want to take a vote on the hill to stake out your position on Planned Parenthood, do it on the healthcare bill," Mulvaney said. "The outside groups agreed on that."

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