“We’re getting pretty close.”
— Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), quoted by the New York Times, on reaching a breaking point over President Trump’s shutdown strategy.
“We’re getting pretty close.”
— Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), quoted by the New York Times, on reaching a breaking point over President Trump’s shutdown strategy.
“The country would face an economic hellscape if the government shutdown lasts ‘months or even years,’ as the president has suggested it might,” experts tell NBC News.
“The doomsday scenario might be unlikely — the longest the federal government has ever shut down is 21 days, a record that will fall if the current closure lasts until Saturday — but it is chilling.”
First Read: “With the partial government shutdown now nearly assured to be the longest in modern political history, we’re still at a standstill. But rather than finding a way to compromise their way out of the mess, it’s starting to look like both sides are simply calculating how much more pain they can withstand.”
“But if the question is who can withstand more pain when it comes to political pressure and public opinion, all the signs we’ve seen (polling on the shutdown/wall, the midterm scoreboard, Trump approval), point to Democrats having the upper hand.”
You are reading the free version of Political Wire.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) told NBC News that President Trump’s threat to declare a national emergency to get funding for the border wall “a very dubious move from the constitutional perspective.”
She added: “Without congressional authorization is not what I think is intended by the national emergency act.”
When asked her views about Trump walking out of a meeting with congressional leaders: “It makes me worried about whether… we are able to get to a compromise this week. I’m worried about what the end game is. This cannot be allowed to go on forever.”
Eight House Republicans broke with President Trump on his shutdown strategy and backed the Democrats’ plan to reopen the Treasury Department without adding money to fund the president’s proposed border wall, the Washington Post reports.
A White House meeting between President Trump and congressional leaders ended abruptly after Democrats again rejected the president’s demand for more than $5 billion to build a border wall.
Trump tweeted that it was “a total waste of time.”
He added: “I asked what is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier? Nancy said, NO. I said bye-bye, nothing else works!”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) “has a message to federal workers in Kansas City who won’t receive paychecks this week,” the Kansas City Star reports.
Said Hawley: “No comment. I’m not going to play hallway roulette with you. I don’t do that.”
“I feel like there’s a Monty Python and the Holy Grail moment here. People pretend they’re winning when they’re having their arms and legs hacked off.”
— Former Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA), quoted by The Hill, on his party’s handling of the government shutdown.
President Trump said that support among Republican lawmakers was “unwavering” for the tough stance he has taken to try to secure funds for a border wall, Reuters reports.
Said Trump: “The Democrats have lost support. There is tremendous Republican support, unwavering.”
Asked how long he was willing to keep the federal government shut, Trump replied: “Whatever it takes.
“If this is a crisis, the people dealing with this crisis should get paid.”
— Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX), in an interview on CNN, calling for an end to the government shutdown.
John Harwood: “President Trump’s lunchtime prediction to broadcasters on Tuesday was right. His televised speech didn’t change a ‘damn thing’ about the government shutdown. He’s still losing the fight.”
“Yet even restless Republicans on Capitol Hill remain wary of simply folding a losing hand. Their fear of a backlash from Trump stalwarts, and of emboldening Democrats, prods them to hold out a little longer.”
Explained Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK): “Pelosi and Schumer cannot obtain absolute victory unless we give it to them. As much as I detest government shutdowns, I do not think we will. And I do not think we should.”
A new HuffPost/YouGov poll finds that 71% of Americans now see the partial government shutdown as at least somewhat serious problem, a modest uptick from 62% last week and 61% at the beginning of the shutdown.
The share who consider it very serious now stands at 42%, up from one-third last week.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds a 51^ majority said President Trump “deserves most of the blame” for the shutdown, up four percentage points from two weeks earlier. About a third, 32%, blame congressional Democrats.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) joined calls today to reopen the rest of the federal government before the funding fight over the border wall is resolved, CNN reports.
Said Murkowski: “I am one who is amendable to a process that would allow for those appropriations bills that have concluded some time ago that they be enacted into law — whether it’s the Department of Interior or the IRS. I’d like to see that.”
First Read: “One big question about tonight’s address: Why exactly is the president giving this address now? Immigration was Trump’s signature issue during the campaign, so why not try to make this case in his first year as president? Or at least at the start of the shutdown rather than 18 days into it? No part of this feels well timed, and — more than anything — it seems to be a tell that Republicans are getting squeamish about the political consequences of the current impasse.”
“Our other question, by the way: If Trump is really prepared to announce an emergency order to build the wall, then why is the government still shut down? If the White House has any hope of selling the border situation as a true crisis requiring an immediate emergency response, don’t they also have to reopen the government immediately? It’s hard to argue that it’s a true emergency but also not serious enough to need a federal government (including the Department of Homeland Security!) that’s operating at full strength.”
Associated Press: “Over the weekend, some airports had long lines at checkpoints, apparently caused by a rising number of security officers calling in sick while they are not getting paid. Safety inspectors aren’t even on the job. A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said Monday that inspectors are being called back to work on a case-by-case basis, with a priority put on inspecting airline fleets.”
“White House officials are increasingly concerned that the impending real-world effects of the shutdown could swamp Republicans if they don’t find a way to make a deal fast,” according to Jonathan Swan.
“Trump’s prime-time address at 9:00 ET tonight, his first from the Oval Office, is part of an urgent P.R. strategy designed to make up for what some Republican officials feel was a languid use of the president’s bully pulpit over the holidays.”
“Trump aides realize the situation could slip away from them politically as the impact is felt by taxpayers and federal workers across America.”
“Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Democrats are ramping up pressure on President Trump and Republicans to open the government amid a prolonged impasse over border wall funding that shows no signs of abating,” The Hill reports.
“Sensing a winning hand, Democrats this week will repackage a handful of uncontroversial bills funding a number of shuttered agencies — excluding Homeland Security, which covers the proposed wall — and send them off to the Senate one by one, forcing GOP leaders to explain their promised inaction on measures they supported just weeks ago.”
Playbook: “There is a growing fear that Republicans will begin getting frustrated with the White House’s position, and will vote with Democrats to open government. Pence said the administration is in touch with Republicans, and he’ll be on the Hill briefing people today.”
“Several dozen House Republicans may cross the aisle this week to vote for Democratic bills to reopen shuttered parts of the federal government, spurring the White House into a dramatic effort to stem potential GOP defections,” Politico reports.
“White House officials and Republican congressional leaders worry that GOP support for the shutdown is eroding, weakening President Trump’s hand as he seeks billions of dollars for a border wall that Democrats have vowed to oppose.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.