Shutdown talk Grand Old Panic
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S threat of a government shutdown sent GOP congressional leaders into damage control mode and stocks sliding on Wednesday.
Trump’s fellow Republicans sought to ease fears after the President raised the specter of a shutdown over funding for his longpromised border wall,
House Speaker Paul Ryan (photo) said he believes a barrier along the Mexican border is necessary, but cautiously added that closing the federal government was a bit of a stretch.
“I don’t think anyone’s interested in having a shutdown,” he said during a visit to an Intel factory in Hillsboro, Ore. “I don’t think it's in our interest to do so.”
Trump also appeared ready to tone down his rhetoric — for now — following his fiery Phoenix rally.
“It is time to heal the wounds that divide us and to seek a new unity based on the common values that unite us,” the President told a crowd of veterans in Reno.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell finally addressed media reports that he and Trump have grown so angry with each other that they haven’t spoken in weeks.
McConnell insisted he and Trump are unified on policy goals, such as funding the government and ending Obamacare, but he had few warm words about their relationship.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us, and we are committed to advancing our shared agenda together and anyone who suggests otherwise is clearly not part of the conversation,” McConnell said in a statement.
The White House later issued a statement of its own, saying that the pair “remain united on many shared priorities, including middle class tax relief, strengthening the military, constructing a southern border wall, and other important issues.”
Wall Street seemed rattled by Trump’s rhetoric on Wednesday, as stocks declined. The S&P 500 index fell 0.35% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%. Congress has roughly 12 working days when it returns from recess after Labor Day to produce a spending bill or vote on a stopgap measure to keep the government operating.
During his tirade, Trump labeled Democrats as “obstructionists” who are more interested in playing politics than working with him.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer scoffed at Trump’s threat.
“If the President pursues this path, against the wishes of both Republicans and Democrats, as well as the majority of the American people, he will be heading towards a government shutdown which nobody will like and which won’t accomplish anything,” Schumer said Wednesday.