In reviewing articles and tweets about the shutdown chaos last night, two takeaways jump out—one perhaps more surprising than the other. First, as the clocked ticked down, reporters on twitter kept talking about how oddly quiet it was in the Capitol.
It was like the Republicans, who control the entire federal government, weren’t even trying. And they weren’t. It’s unclear whether it’s because they thought a shutdown would work in their favor politically or because they just had zero creative ideas to avoid one, but it’s probably a little bit of both. But on the Hill, most reporters were stunned by the GOP leadership’s flaccid response to impending doom. Conservative Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin writes:
...to put on my former labor lawyer hat, McConnell’s lack of urgency today was stunning. This situation is akin to a labor contract negotiation leading up to a strike deadline. Not to have a single joint meeting with Democrats and the president or exchange any proposals in the final day represents a stunning level of irresponsibility. Republicans control both houses and the White House; not to make every effort to initiate talks and find a solution suggests they no longer know how to cut deals.
Deals take compromise and Republicans have decided they simply don’t need to compromise—ever. Especially when they control the entire federal government.
Also, the AP has a pretty good bird’s eye 360 view on the week, hitting flash points from the White House and both chambers of Congress. And although this does not surprise one bit, it’s clear that the final Schumer/Trump effort to avert a shutdown was killed partly because Trump sowed total confusion into the process and partly because the nativist forces in the GOP and White House killed any chance at compromise. Here’s the AP’s bit on the Friday Schumer/Trump meeting at the White House.
Trump and Schumer each brought just one aide to Friday’s Oval Office lunch. The president was flanked by chief of staff John Kelly, while Schumer brought his own chief of staff.
Over cheeseburgers, they discussed a broad deal that would include a large increase in defense and border spending in exchange for protections for the young immigrants. Schumer suggested a two- or three-day resolution would give congressional negotiators time to nail down the details. He left the White House without a deal, but believed he had an understanding they were close.
As news of the Schumer meeting spread, the White House sought to reassure Republican leaders that Trump wasn’t making any major policy concessions. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told reporters Trump had simply told Schumer to work things out with Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
A few hours later, Trump called Schumer — but the conversation had changed. He wanted to talk about an apparent deal for a three-week spending bill he believed had been struck by leaders by both parties. Schumer was confused and said it was the first he had heard of it, according to a person familiar with the conversation.
The president encouraged Schumer to work it out with McConnell. McConnell, unsure what Trump might support, encouraged Schumer to work it out with the White House.
The White House did not immediately comment on the conversations.
Trump called Schumer one more time as the evening turned to night, this time with chief of staff Kelly on the phone. He raised new concerns about the deal they had discussed during lunch. In a subsequent phone call with Schumer, Kelly said the deal was too liberal. (emphasis added)
Word on the street is that GOP nativists Sen. Tom Cotton and Rep. Mark Meadows had some sort of veto-power rule with Trump on any immigration deal—which means that making any deal with Trump is entirely and totally useless. It’s like handing immigration over to the white supremacist wing of the party. Trump is effectively completing the nativist takeover of the Republican party.