Former President Trump said he would back a government shutdown if House conservatives aren’t able to secure an “appropriate deal” to slash spending.
Trump was asked by Kristen Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press” if conservatives should abandon their threat to shut down the government at the end of the month over spending concerns now that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has greenlighted an impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
“No, I think if they don’t get a fair deal — we have to save our country. We’re at $35 trillion in debt, we have to save our country,” Trump said in the interview airing Sunday.
“I’d shut down the government if they can’t make an appropriate deal, absolutely,” he added.
Lawmakers in Congress have just a few working days remaining to reach a funding deal before the deadline at the end of the month.
Most agree a continuing resolution (CR) will be needed to keep the government open and buy more time to negotiate annual funding measures, especially with Republicans controlling the House and Democrats holding a narrow majority in the Senate.
But there is skepticism that there will be broad enough agreement for a stopgap measure, in part because the House Freedom Caucus last month said it would not support a short-term measure to fund the government unless it addresses the situation at the southern border, the “weaponization” of the Department of Justice and “woke policies in the Pentagon.”
Divisions within the House GOP conference last week forced Republican leaders in the lower chamber to postpone a vote to begin debate on the annual defense appropriations bill.
Senate conservatives on Thursday then demanded changes to a noncontroversial spending package that had strong bipartisan support, bringing the bill to a screeching halt.
Trump was president during two separate government shutdowns.
The first, in early 2018, lasted just a few days. The second, which began at the end of 2018 and dragged into early 2019, lasted 35 days, making it the longest shutdown to date.
The second shutdown hinged on Trump’s demands for funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, which Democrats staunchly opposed.