WASHINGTON (AP) – Will he or won’t he?
President Donald Trump is sowing confusion about whether he’s committed to keeping the government open through the fall elections or would willingly shut it down to secure more money for his promised wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump on Tuesday escalated his public threats of a government shutdown, even as he has told aides privately that he won’t make any move until after the midterm elections. The president tweeted Tuesday that he did not care about the “political ramifications,” adding that “a Government Shutdown is a very small price to pay for a safe and Prosperous America!”
His comments followed several days of shutdown threats in which he declared he saw “no problem” in shutting down the government to secure backing for one of his key campaign promises. But two officials said Trump recognized the political cost of a shutdown before the November elections and had assured staff he wouldn’t provoke a fiscal crisis until after Election Day. A congressional aide said the White House had sent a similar message to Capitol Hill amid widespread anxiety about a potential shutdown as Republicans face tough re-election fights.
The two officials and the congressional aide spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss internal deliberations.