Trump Warns of 'Very Long' 'Democrat Shutdown'

President wants McConnell to use the nuclear option to pass House bill with wall funding
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 21, 2018 8:44 AM CST
Trump Warns of a 'Very Long' Shutdown
President Donald Trump reviews border wall prototypes in San Diego on March 13, 2018.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

President Trump warned of a "Democrat Shutdown" of the government in Friday morning tweets, adding that "it will last for a very long time!" Having backed away from a temporary spending bill that would've funded the government until Feb. 8, Trump has thrown his support behind a new bill that includes $5 billion for his border wall, reports the Hill. The measure, which passed the House on Thursday, needs 60 votes in the Senate, meaning at least nine Democrats need to come on board. But Trump is pressing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to "use the Nuclear Option and get it done!"

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders confirms Trump supports lowering the 60-vote threshold to a simple majority, meaning the bill could be passed with support from all 51 Republican senators, reports Bloomberg. "McConnell should fight for the Wall and Border Security as hard as he fought for anything," Trump tweeted Friday. He accused Democrats, meanwhile, of "trying to belittle the concept of a Wall" when "there is nothing else's [sic] that will work, and that has been true for thousands of years." He added, "I know tech better than anyone, & technology … on a Border is only effective in conjunction with a Wall." Sanders says Trump will skip a holiday trip to Mar-a-Lago if a shutdown is triggered at the midnight deadline, forcing 400,000 essential employees to work without pay; another 350,000 will be sent home, per Bloomberg. (More government shutdown stories.)

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