Trump: govt shutdown will fix US

President urges party to use ‘nuclear option’ to pass laws

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump endorsed a government shutdown later this year in a post on Twitter Tuesday that also urged Republicans to consider changing Senate rules to make it easier to pass spending and other bills without any Democratic support. “Our country needs a good ‘shutdown’ in September to fix mess!” he wrote.

Trump also backed the socalled “nuclear option” for legislation but added that the party could strengthen its hand by winning more Senate seats in the 2018 congressional election.

Democrats — and some Republicans—quicklydenounced hiscalltoclosethefederalgovernment in a spending fight just as both parties were closing in on a final measure to fund agencies through September.

“Here we saw Democrats and Republicans working together in the best traditions of the Senate, and the president disparages it in a way that’s destructive,” Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer said.

Senator John Cornyn of Texas, theno.2republicaninthesenate, told reporters: “I just don’t agree.”

Trump said his fellow Republicans had to acquiesce to Democraticdemandsinagovernmentspendingbillnegotiatedthis weekbecausetheparty’smajority wastooslim.republicanshold52 seats in the 100-seat U.S. Senate.

“The reason for the plan negotiated between the Republicans and Democrats is that we need 60 votes in the Senate which are not there! We either elect more Republican Senators in 2018 or change the rules now to 51%,” Trump wrote on Twitter

Both parties signed off on the spending bill to fund the federal government through September to avert a government shutdown, with Republicans and Democrats both claiming some political victories.

Some conservatives applauded Trump’s call for ending the supermajority needed in the Senate to pass major legislation.

Representative Trent Franks, pointing to the compromise spendingbillmovingtothehouse and Senate floors this week, said Democratshavea“chokehold”on billsdespitebeingintheminority.

Senateleadershavealreadyallowedthe“nuclearoption”toease through judicial and executivebranch nominees with a simple majority of 51 votes. REUTERS

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