Democrats are accusing President Donald Trump and GOP congressional leadership of refusing to negotiate as the country heads into week four of a government shutdown, with one senator saying Trump prefers the government to be closed.
In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday’s “State of the Union,” Sen. Chris Murphy said the shutdown is giving Trump and his allies the ability to decide which departments are able to work.
“I think one of the reasons that President Trump is refusing to negotiate is because he likes the fact that the government is closed because he thinks he can exercise king like-powers,” the Connecticut senator said.
“He can open up the parts of the government that he wants. He can pay the employees who are loyal to him. … This is part of what happens in totalitarian states.”
As the shutdown continues, Democrats are adamant that they will not vote for a bill that does not extend health care subsidies but just days after the shutdown began, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said: “There is nothing to negotiate.”
It is a position he has maintained, and Republicans have repeatedly argued issues around subsidies can be debated at a later date.
Some lawmakers have begun to posit whether Trump needs to be more involved in the negotiations — though the president, who is in Asia this week, did hold one meeting with Democratic leadership ahead of the shutdown.
But in an interview with ABC’s Martha Raddatz on “This Week,” Sen. Mark Kelly claimed Trump has spent only one hour negotiating with Democratic leadership since the shutdown began.
“If we could have a real negotiation about this and with the president, the president has spent one hour on this,” the Arizona senator said. “How much time has he spent talking about his ballroom?”
Trump’s ballroom, intended to replace the East Wing of the White House, is projected to cost more than $300 million. But, Kelly said, “Almost every single American taxpayer will never go in that room.”
