It’s after midnight in Washington, D.C. and officially the government has shut down. The Senate finally just completed the vote, McConnell casting the final “no” vote, a procedural vote that allows him to bring it back. Previous to that, senators were furiously negotiating on the floor for over an hour, holding the cloture vote open with the possibility of a way forward. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) shuttled furiously between clusters of senators, making his case for a shorter-term spending bill that they could still vote on tonight and get to the House.
Never mind those last-ditch attempts to avert this crisis, at midnight the White House sent a message for the “losers” and it’s every bit as helpful as you would imagine coming from that den of cretins.
Senate Democrats own the Schumer Shutdown. Tonight, they put politics above our national security, military families, vulnerable children, and our country’s ability to serve all Americans. We will not negotiate the status of unlawful immigrants while Democrats hold our lawful citizens hostage over their reckless demands. This is the behavior of obstructionist losers, not legislators. When Democrats start paying our armed forces and first responders we will reopen negotiations on immigration reform. During this politically manufactured Schumer Shutdown, the President and his Administration will fight for and protect the American people.
This is as bad as Trump’s tweet before the vote even started, when he opined “Not looking good for our great Military or Safety & Security on the very dangerous Southern Border.” It’s nothing more than sabotage. It’s immature, reckless bile. It’s our president.
And it’s the Senate Majority Leader. Mitch McConnell stood on the floor after the vote and endorsed every word of that vile White House statement, with even more vitriol against the Democrats, if possible.
The shutdown is on, and finding a way out given Trump and McConnell’s position is going to be extremely difficult.