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.
-
September 7 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include stressing about Powerball, and a busy FBI schedule
-
Nvidia: unstoppable force, or powering down?
Talking Point Sales of firm's AI-powering chips have surged above market expectations –but China is the elephant in the room
-
5 hard-working cartoons about Labor Day celebrations
Cartoons Artists take on creation of AI, spelling mistakes, and more
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
-
Florida aims to end all state vaccine requirements
Speed Read Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to cut vaccine access and install anti-vaccine activists at the FDA and CDC
-
US kills 11 on 'drug-carrying boat' off Venezuela
Speed Read Trump claimed those killed in the strike were 'positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists' shipping drugs to the US
-
Trump vows to send federal forces to Chicago, Baltimore
Speed Read The announcement followed a California judge ruling that Trump's LA troop deployment was illegal