Sarah Huckabee Sanders scrambles to explain away Trump's pining for a government shutdown


On Tuesday, President Trump said that he'd "love to see" a government shutdown at week's end if Democrats and Republicans fail to agree on immigration legislation. In an all-too-familiar scene, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was forced to address and retract that claim during a press briefing only a few hours later.
"We are not advocating for the shutdown," Sanders said after she was asked about her boss' remarks. She quickly pivoted to blaming the minority party in Congress: "[A shutdown would be] the fault of the Democrats not being willing to do their jobs."
"The president wants a long-term deal and he wants to get a deal on immigration," Sanders insisted. Earlier on Tuesday, the president said as much, but warned a group of lawmakers and law enforcement officials that it was unlikely to happen: "You can say what you want," he said. "We're not getting support from the Democrats on this legislation."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On that claim, Trump is probably correct. Most Democrats are adamantly opposed to the immigration bill he has proposed, which would give DREAMers — undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children — a path to citizenship in exchange for funding the president's much desired but still unrealized border wall.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kelly O'Meara Morales is a staff writer at The Week. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied Middle Eastern history and nonfiction writing amongst other esoteric subjects. When not compulsively checking Twitter, he writes and records music, subsists on tacos, and watches basketball.
-
Strava vs. Garmin: the row splitting the running community
Under The Radar The legal dispute between the two titans of exercise tech is like ‘Mom and Dad fighting’
-
Bad Bunny: Why MAGA is incensed
Feature The NFL announced Latino artist Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl halftime headliner, sparking MAGA outrage
-
Supreme Court: Judging 20 years of Roberts
Feature Two decades after promising to “call balls and strikes,” Chief Justice John Roberts faces scrutiny for reshaping American democracy
-
News organizations reject Pentagon restrictions
Speed Read The proposed policy is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest move to limit press access at the Pentagon
-
Trump declares end to Gaza war, ‘dawn’ of new Mideast
Speed Read Hamas freed the final 20 living Israeli hostages and Israel released thousands of Palestinian detainees
-
Trump DOJ indicts New York AG Letitia James
Speed Read New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted as Trump’s Justice Department pursues charges against his political opponents
-
Judge blocks Trump’s Guard deployment in Chicago
Speed Read The president is temporarily blocked from federalizing the Illinois National Guard or deploying any Guard units in the state
-
Trump urges jail for Illinois, Chicago leaders
Speed Read The Texas National Guard begin operations in the Chicago area
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-off
Speed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland