Many Democrats believe the White House is bluffing and insist Republicans will bear responsibility for a shutdown in the public eye because the GOP controls the government.
The Trump administration is expecting a government shutdown come Wednesday and there are no current plans to negotiate with Democratic leadership, according to a senior White House official.
“We’re going to extract maximum pain,” said the official, granted anonymity to discuss political strategy, adding that Democrats “will pay a huge price for this.”
The comments underscore the White House’s belief that Democrats will be blamed for a shutdown and its ripple effects, which could include mass layoffs across the federal government.
I say this as a government employee: shut it down. I don’t want to be looking for a new job in Trump’s economy, but we’re long past the point where we can fight this authoritarianism without risking anything.
Me too, as hard as a government shut down will be on my family it’s necessary to preserve liberties.