A number of House Democrats are being courted by the White House as President Trump looks for concessions on his border wall to end the government shutdown.
Wooing Pelosi’s caucus
The current government shutdown is now officially the longest one in American history. And, if polls are to be believed, the American public is placing the blame largely at President Trump’s feet. (RELATED: Polls Show Most Blame Trump for Shutdown, But Support for Border Wall is Going Up.)
The pressure to end the shutdown is only increasing, and is likely behind President Trump’s latest move to jump start negotiations with the Democrats, which have come to a halt. And he’s doing it by targeting House Democrats in red districts, hoping to court them over to his border-wall cause.
Politico reports: “[T]he White House is considering a last-ditch effort to woo moderate Democrats from red districts with the promise of a border security deal reopening the government, according to people familiar with the plans.”
Some NEWS w/ @JakeSherman: White House inviting group of House Democrats to meet this week to talk border security
— Heather Caygle (@heatherscope) January 14, 2019
WH hoping to circumvent Pelosi et. al and cut a deal with moderate House Dems
HIGHLY unlikely this works but official invites going out soon.
— Heather Caygle (@heatherscope) January 14, 2019
Big White House risk
This is a really desperate effort on the White House’s part. Nancy Pelosi is Speaker of the House because she leads in a very ruthless style that allows little dissent. Pelosi has already drawn her line in the sand: no border wall. She’s going to stick to it to the end.
And she won’t be blamed for holding up shutdown negotiations because the media is on her side and wants her to win this battle. Therefore, the Democrats have all the leverage in this fight, despite President Trump’s reasonable concern for violence and drugs flowing across our southern border.
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Even so, President Trump has so far remained committed to his promise of constructing a border wall. (RELATED: Lindsey Graham: Trump Isn’t Giving In On Border Wall.) It remains to be seen if he’ll maintain the commitment in the face of Democrat resistance.
