Shutdown may be unavoidable, No. 2 Republican in House says

Border wall issue creates impasse

WASHINGTON — A looming partial government shutdown would be “stupid” but might be unavoidable if Democrats refuse to support President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico, the second-ranking House Republican said on Thursday.

Even if Republicans assemble enough votes to approve the wall in the House, the plan probably will fail in the Senate, said Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California. The House majority leader noted that Senate Democrats have pledged to prevent the bill from getting the necessary 60 votes.

McCarthy said on the House floor that he thinks “going into a shutdown is stupid,” but he offered no immediate plan before the Dec. 21 deadline.

The House adjourned for six days soon after his remarks.

McCarthy’s comments put him at odds with Trump, who said this week that he would be “proud to shut down the government” in the name of border security.

“I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down,” Trump said Tuesday during a contentious White House meeting with House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

Trump kept up the pressure Thursday, saying in a video released by the White House that Schumer and other Democrats were once in favor of border barriers, but now oppose them because of Trump.

Trump said, “They only don’t want to do it because of me. They have to put the people ahead of politics.”

Trump’s insistence on the wall — and his willingness to shoulder blame for shutting the government — have made it difficult for Republican leaders to negotiate even as they try to avoid a shutdown that neither party wants.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the Senate’s No 2 Republican, said he does not understand Trump’s strategy. “Maybe he’s figured it out and he’ll tell us in due course, but I don’t understand it,” Cornyn told The Washington Post.

Democrats have offered $1.3 billion for border security that includes fencing and other technology, but not a concrete wall.