Both chambers of Congress opened at 12:00 noon Saturday, and immediately Republican leadership completely abdicated responsibility for finding a way out of the government shutdown. Both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan are actively distancing themselves from the negotiating table.
Who could have foreseen that Ryan would spend his last days in office as the embodiment of an empty suit? What a fitting way for his “leadership” to end.
Or that McConnell would continue to enable Trump when he knows very well the problem is Trump? This is after he spent the last few weeks asserting, repeatedly, that there would not be a shutdown because Trump would sign a short-term continuing resolution punting on issue until February. It wasn’t Democrats who reneged on the deal.
Meanwhile, Trump says that he’s having a working lunch in the White House “with large group concerning Border Security.” That lunch apparently doesn’t include any member of Congress who is involved in trying to resolve the stand-off.
Add your name: Tell Republicans to do their jobs and end the shutdown NOW.