President Trump quarreled with "one of the most vulnerable House Republicans" on Tuesday after she called him out on urging a government shutdown, The Washington Post's Robert Costa reports.
Speaking at a law enforcement panel centered around the MS-13 gang, Trump had said: "If we don't change [immigration] legislation, if we don't get rid of these loopholes where killers are allowed to come into our country and continue to kill ... let's have a shutdown." He added: "If we have to shut it down because the Democrats don't want safety, let's shut it down." Immigration is not included in the bipartisan legislation being worked on at the moment in the Senate, The Hill reports.
Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) additionally told Trump: "We don't need a government shutdown on this," the pool reports. She further "emphasiz[ed] both that both parties see the downside of a shutdown, and there is bipartisan support for a crackdown on violent gangs." Trump cut Comstock off to tell her: "You can say what you want. We are not getting support of the Democrats."
It is not the first time Trump has refused to bat an eye at a shutdown. In May 2017, he urged "a good shutdown" in a tweet.