Government shutdown

SCHUMER: “The one thing I think we can agree on is we shouldn’t shut down the government over a dispute. And you want to shut it down. You keep talking about it.” — Oval Office meeting.

TRUMP: “No, no, no, no, no. The last time, Chuck, you shut it down.” SCHUMER: “No, no, no.” THE FACTS: There’s no settling any argument over who is responsible for a shutdown. But the last one, in January, was generally attributed to Senate Democrats seeking to force protections for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants.

Parts of the government closed for three days as Democrats united against a Republican-backed temporary spending bill unless Republicans and Trump agreed to extend the expiring Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protected the children of parents who came to the U.S. illegally. The White House was resisting bipartisan efforts to help the young immigrants.

Schumer ultimately gave in to GOP demands in exchange for a promise from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to address the issue at a later date, infuriating liberal activists who were pushing Democrats hard for an immigration deal.

Schumer had grounds, though, for accusing Trump of wanting a partial shutdown now. The president said he’d be “proud to shut down the government” and eager to take responsibility for it if he didn’t get enough money from Congress for border security.

••• TRUMP: “If we don’t get what we want one way or another ... I will shut down the government.” — in meeting with Pelosi and Schumer.