Republicans have no clue how Trump intends to avoid a shutdown

How does President Trump plan on avoiding a partial government shutdown this Friday? Your guess, it seems, is as good as the rest of the GOP's.

Republican lawmakers are "in the dark" with three days left to go before the government would partially shut down if the president and Democratic leaders cannot agree on new funding, per The Washington Post. "If there is a plan ... I'm not aware of it," Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Monday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told Republicans that "we're waiting for" the White House.

But Republicans are "concerned" about this apparent "lack of strategy," CNN reports. "If the White House has a plan, they're keeping it to themselves," Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) noted.

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The Washington Post reports the White House's legislative affairs team has come up with a plan to avoid a shutdown. It's unclear what this might be, but CNN notes that Trump seems to think he can "exert maximum pressure on Democrats" and compel them to agree to the $5 billion he has demanded for border wall funding; Democrats have said they will not agree to more than $1.6 billion for border security.

Republicans fear they would suffer the political consequences if a shutdown happens, especially after Trump explicitly stated in a meeting last week he'd be "proud" to see it happen and would "take the blame."