Does Trump Consider a Government Shutdown a Win?

Stan Collender: “Unless the House Freedom Caucus decides to blow up the process, Congress is most likely to send Trump a funding bill for the rest of fiscal 2017 that doesn’t include any of the major policy changes he’s suggested: no money for the wall, no defunding of Planned Parenthood, no additional appropriations for the Pentagon, nothing on sanctuary cities, no enhanced border enforcement, continued funding for Affordable Care Act subsidies, etc. Congressional leaders are very likely to make promises about dealing with all those issues in the future — in a soon-to-come standalone supplemental appropriation for military spending, for example — but exclude them all from the 2017 funding bill.”

“The question is whether Trump will sign that bill and keep the government open, or veto it and shut Washington down?”

“Trump could decide that preventing the government from shutting its doors would be a win because it’s something several of his predecessors — including Obama — couldn’t do.”