Trump says he's waiting for Democrats to 'come on over and make a deal'

(Image credit: Pool/Getty Images)

published 29 December 2018

While polling indicates a plurality of Americans blame him for the federal government's partial shutdown, President Trump suggested on Twitter Saturday his hands are tied until congressional Democrats are willing to negotiate:

Contrary Trump's implication, the military is fully funded through September and has not been affected by the partial government shutdown, which began last Saturday. The vast majority of law enforcement in the United States is conducted at the state or local level and thus is also not affected by the federal shutdown, though the departments of Homeland Security and Justice — which include Customs and Border Protection and the FBI, respectively — are among the agencies without current funding.

No significant progress in shutdown negotiations is anticipated until Jan. 3, when the new Congress takes office with a Democratic majority in the House.

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.