Trump’s Twitter outburst puts deal for Government funding in doubt


Developments on Day 313 of the Trump Administration:

Trump: “I Don’t See A Deal”

Donald Trump threatens a shutdown of the Federal Government, less than two weeks before funding runs out.

Trump used Twitter for his warning on Tuesday, hours before he was to meet legislators:

“Chuck and Nancy” — Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives — then pulled out of the meeting: “Given that the President doesn’t see a deal between Democrats and the White House, we believe the best path forward is to continue negotiating with our Republican counterparts in Congress instead.”

Trump responded by telling reporters, “They’ve been all talk, and they’ve been no action, and now it’s even worse. Now it’s not even talk.”

In early September, a shutdown was averted when Trump — in an apparent, spur-of-the-moment shift as Republican leaders looked on with surprise — agreed with Schumer and Pelosi on a deal to extend supplementary Government funding to December 15.

Reversing threats to deport young undocumented immigrants studying and working in the US — “Dreamers” — under a 2013 order by President Barack Obama, Trump said he would join Congress in pursuing legislation for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The Democrats said Trump agreed to stop his insistence on a 2,000-mile border wall between the US and Mexico.

Pelosi and Schumer also hope to use negotiations to provide financing for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, whose funding lapsed at the end of September.

But Trump set aside the agreement in sharp remarks yesterday, “If [a shutdown] happens, I would absolutely blame the Democrats. If it happens, it’s going to be over illegals pouring into the country, crime pouring into the country, no border wall — which everybody wants.”

Senate Panel Passes $1.5 Trillion Tax Cut

A Senate panel has approved a $1.5 trillion tax cut package, opening the possibility of a vote by the full Senate later this week.

The Senate Budget Committee voted along party lines after dealmaking to persuade some wavering Republicans who had expressed concerns such as the treatment of small businesses and the expansion of the Federal Government’s deficit.

Donald Trump said at the White House, “I think we’re going to get it passed. It’s going to have lots of adjustments before it ends, but the end result will be a very, very massive — the largest in the history of our country — tax cut.”

The package largely benefits the wealthiest Americans, with some middle- and lower-income families worse off.

If adopted by the Senate, the legislation still needs to be reconciled with the House of Representatives over the scope and timing of cuts.

Congress is also awaiting a report from the Joint Committee on Taxation on the effects on the economy. Analysts expect the assessment to demonstrate that the Senate bill does not create nearly enough growth to generate revenues to offset funds lost through tax cuts.