Ronna McDaniel, Donald Trump’s handpicked Republican National Committee chair, charged on Friday that Democrats want to win back Congress in 2018 so they can shut down the government “as much as possible.” But if that were actually the Democrats’ goal, they literally could have done so hours before.
Congress passed an omnibus spending bill with bipartisan support on Thursday afternoon and early Friday morning. The GOP leadership’s bill, which the Trump administration had said it supported, passed the House and Senate only because enough Democrats voted yes to make up for Republican defections. While the Democrats are a minority in both the House and Senate, had they all voted against this deal, it would have virtually guaranteed a government shutdown.
Asked by Fox News about Trump’s observation the day before that his popularity may not transfer to other GOP candidates in the 2018 midterms, McDaniel offered a non-answer, praising Trump as “the best motivator of our base,” but warning that “Democrats are coming for the majorities.”
“They want to take back control and shut down this government as much as possible and stop president trump from achieving great things for the American people,” she charged. “And so President Trump’s gonna continue to work, but it’s a warning sign for candidates, you’ll have to get out and make a case for yourself because voters will make a choice between you and the other Democrat that you’re running against.”
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Ironically, it was Donald Trump who said Friday that he might shut down his own government rather than sign the bill. He tweeted that he might veto the bill that his administration endorsed hours before, angry that it does not contain the billions of dollars he needs to build a massive border wall (which he promised would be funded entirely by Mexico, virtually daily during his 2016 campaign.)
I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2018
Trump’s threat to veto the spending bill came shortly after it was criticized “a swamp budget, Mitch McConnell special” on his the president’s favorite show, Fox & Friends.