Washington Examiner Executive Editor Bob Cusack said he doesn’t see an “easy compromise” as congressional Republicans continue to butt heads on how to end the partial government shutdown.
Republicans in both the House and the Senate have two different proposals for how to fund the Department of Homeland Security and end its weekslong shutdown. The Senate passed a deal that excluded money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which was promptly rejected by House Republicans, who plan to advance an eight-week, short-term bill that funds all of DHS instead.
Cusack said this showdown, and the Republican Party’s disagreement on how to resolve it, underscores a “real problem” as the Senate breaks for two weeks for spring vacation. He added that the shutdown is in “uncharted waters” because of President Donald Trump’s executive order to pay Transportation Security Administration workers, as it is unclear how long these payments will last. Border Czar Tom Homan has highlighted that others aren’t getting paid.
“So this is a real problem for Republicans. They control the Congress, so even though [House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA)] was criticizing [Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)], it was [Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD)] who controls the Senate floor,” Cusack said on C-Span’s Washington Journal. “They just have very different views of how to move forward, and I don’t see an easy compromise happening.”
“The interesting element here is President Trump, because President Trump‘s White House reportedly signaled that they were OK with the Senate bill, but when Johnson contacted him and called the president, the president was saying, ‘OK, you don‘t want to pass that bill? That’s fine by me,’ and here we are,” Cusack said.
Cusack added that this shutdown isn’t coming “at a good time” for Republicans, as Trump faces bad polling numbers, especially among independent voters. He said Republicans are facing a “tough election” in the midterm elections, and the party is likely to get “the majority of the blame” from this shutdown.
For Democrats, Cusack said the party lost the prior shutdown battle last November, and Schumer received “a lot of heat” for his handling of it. However, the party is “fairly united” on the current shutdown fight.
Cusack cited that Thune asked for “patience” from the public in an interview with the Washington Examiner, a line frequently used by the Trump administration as it seeks to deliver on affordability and the Iran conflict. However, “the momentum” is with the Democratic Party despite having an unclear agenda, though Cusack said a party doesn’t need one in a midterm election cycle and “just have to be the opposition party.”
RESTORING AMERICA: ANOTHER SHUTDOWN, ANOTHER CLOWN SHOW IN CONGRESS
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) suggested the Senate get “new leadership” when asked about the Senate’s deal to reopen DHS, and said Thune “ignores” the SAVE America Act that Trump wants passed. He also voiced approval for TMZ for releasing pictures of lawmakers vacationing on spring recess, saying lawmakers need to “get back to work” as the shutdown continues.
Washington Examiner investigations editor Sarah Bedford said the Democratic Party isn’t behaving as if it’s losing this shutdown fight. She added that Schumer isn’t feeling pressure to accept “what might be considered” by the Democratic base a bad deal.