Nancy Pelosi chides Senate GOP for kowtowing to Trump on the wall. Some Senate Republicans seem to agree.
House Democrats, with support from seven Republicans, voted to end the partial government shutdown Thursday night by funding the shuttered agencies without any money for President Trump's border wall. Trump said he wouldn't sign the bills without $5 billion for the wall, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) reiterated that he won't force Trump to use his veto. "The Senate will not take up any proposal that does not have a real chance of passing this chamber and getting a presidential signature," he said on the Senate floor. He called the House bills "political statements rather than serious solutions."
New House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reminded McConnell that Congress doesn't work for the president. "What we're asking the Republicans in the Senate to do is to take 'yes' for an answer," she said. "We are sending them back exactly, word for word, what they have passed. ... Did they not hear about the coequal branch of government, and that we the Congress send the president legislation and he can choose to sign or not?" Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) piled on. "The power to end the shutdown is in two people's hands: Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell," he told reporters. "They both should try"
At least two Senate Republicans agreed, and several others expressed discomfort with the shutdown. "I think we should pass a continuing resolution to get the government back open," said Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), up for re-election in 2020. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) added that "it would be great" to have most of the House-passed appropriations bills "signed into law because there is not great controversy over them, and at least we'd be getting those workers back to work."
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.
But McConnell isn't budging. He's also up for re-election in 2020, and he's much less popular in Kentucky than Trump, The New York Times notes. So after two years of trying to advance Trump's agenda, "McConnell now sees his primary job as standing in the way of Speaker Nancy Pelosi."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Argentina’s Milei buoyed by regional election winsSpeed Read Argentine President Javier Milei is an ally of President Trump, receiving billions of dollars in backing from his administration
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
Political cartoons for October 27Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include improving national monuments, the NBA gambling scandal, and the AI energy vampire
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
Donald Trump’s week in Asia: can he shift power away from China?Today's Big Question US president’s whirlwind week of diplomacy aims to bolster economic ties and de-escalate trade war with China
-
Marjorie Taylor Greene’s rebellion: Maga hardliner turns on TrumpIn the Spotlight The Georgia congresswoman’s independent streak has ‘not gone unnoticed’ by the president
-
‘Congratulations on your house, but maybe try a greyhound instead’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump wants to exert control over federal architectureThe Explainer Beyond his ballroom, Trump has several other architectural plans in mind
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
