'Never been more depressed': Trump kills Graham effort to end shutdown

Last edited Thu Jan 10, 2019, 09:26 PM - Edit history (1)

President Donald Trump has rejected a plan proposed by a bloc of Senate Republicans who had hoped to break an impasse over the government shutdown, leaving Congress and the White House with little obvious way out of the extended battle over Trump's border wall.

On the 20th day of the shutdown, the GOP group tried to jump start bipartisan talks before Trump declares a national emergency to get his wall. But the president rejected their idea to allow congressional committees to sort out his border wall request while the government reopened, deeming the idea likely to leave him with nothing to show for the shutdown.

Vice President Mike Pence and acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney had been consulting with senators about the matter on Thursday. Pence and Mulvaney took the idea to the president, who shot it down, according to multiple people directly involved in the talks. While the congressional committees could still take up Trump's border wall plan, the president opposes the idea of opening the government before serious wall negotiations have begun, the people said. He told Senate Republicans he believes he is winning the fight and will not sign any stopgap bills at this point.

"I think we're stuck. I just don't see a pathway forward. I don't see a way forward," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who had been leading the effort. "I have never been more depressed about moving forward than I am right now. I just don’t see a pathway forward."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/never-been-more-depressed-trump-kills-graham-effort-to-end-shutdown/ar-BBS4UeW?li=BBnb7Kz

Sure you do Lindsey. That's why you encouraged Trump to declare an emergency.