Trump wants one
Oh right. That continuing resolution expires this month:
Donald Trump is pressuring Republicans to shut down the government at the end of this month if Congress doesn’t pass a GOP-backed proposal to establish new election rules nationwide.
Trump has called on Republicans in Congress to link funding the government with the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote — in a bid to target non-citizen voting, which is already illegal. And House Republican leaders are considering adopting the strategy and picking a fight with Democrats.
The deadline to fund the government is Sept. 30. The GOP-led House and Democratic-led Senate have to agree on how to move forward in order to prevent a shutdown, and Democrats have decried the SAVE Act as a poison pill.
“I would shut down the government in a heartbeat if they don’t get it,” Trump said on the “Monica Crowley Show” last week.
“It should be in the bill. And if it’s not in the bill, you want to close it up,” he said. “So I’m not there but, you know, I have influence.”
He oversaw the longest shutdown in history when he was president and learned absolutely nothing.
This is being pushed from the inside by Freedom Caucus types led by Chip Roy of Texas who thinks this is some kind of magic bullet that will help them keep the House. Apparently, they think that the country will turn on the Democrats once they learn that they are refusing to pass a bill making it illegal for undocumented migrants to vote — even though it’s already illegal. Trump, of course, thinks this will strengthen his case that the election was stolen which is all he cares about.
I don’t think they’re going to shut down in the middle of an election. It’s risky and they don’t have time to play games down in Washington when control of the House is so precarious. But you never know. They’re just that nuts.