Senate Republicans are grumbling that President Trump undercut their strategy for ending the government shutdown when he said that he’s willing to cut “the right deal” with Democrats on health care.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) scheduled three votes this week on a House-passed bill to reopen the government and keep it funded through Nov. 21 but failed to pick up any additional Democratic votes for the measure.
Some Republican senators worry Trump’s remarks convinced many Democrats the president will eventually make significant concessions.
One Republican senator who requested anonymity to avoid angering Trump said that the president’s comments about being open to a “deal” with Democrats had “muddied” the Republican shutdown strategy.
No, I disagree here.
Trump wants his name in the headlines, and also wants to make deals he can “win” (whatever that means). There is always room to negotiate whenever Trump is in charge. You should expect him to break any “deal” immediately, though, so you should not make any deals that do not have an immediate payoff.
The Project 2025 folks, on the other hand, want to make government so small it can drown it in the bathtub. They would shut down the (non-military) government permanently if given the chance.
Ultimately, I think this is why Democrats are picking this fight now. They think they see a window where they can make the two factions fight. I am not sure it will work, but it looks better than doing nothing.