(TheLastPatriotNews.com) – Donald Trump is encouraging House Republicans to use the threat of a government shutdown to successfully exact a spending-cut deal from Democrats and the Biden administration.
You can watch a video clip of Trump further down this post.
Trump spoke in a wide-ranging, hour-long interview on the NBC News program “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
Kristen Welker, the new host of “Meet the Press,” asked the former president if the Republican majority in the House of Representatives should stick with its threat of a federal shutdown at the end of September to achieve a spending deal with the left.
The spending fight in Congress comes against the backdrop of the GOP’s impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, whose launch House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced last week.
“Do you think that Republican hardliners should abandon their threat to shut down the government over their spending priorities now that there is this impeachment inquiry,” Welker asked.
“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 replied.
The host questioned whether he would shut down the government if the possibility were up to him in the present situation.
“I’d shut down the government if they can’t make an appropriate deal, absolutely,” declared the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Congress has only several working days left to hammer out a compromise government funding deal before the September 30 deadline, The Hill notes in a report.
It adds that most Congress members “agree” on the need to pass “a continuing resolution (CR)” so the US government could keep functioning to allow more time for spending negotiations.
Yet, it claims “there is skepticism” regarding sufficient support for stopgap measures, including due to last month’s declaration by the conservative House Freedom Caucus that it would back a short-term motion for government spending if it doesn’t address “woke” Pentagon policies, the illegal immigrant invasion, and the “weaponization” of the US Justice Department.
It is noted that there were two federal government shutdowns during the Trump presidency.
The first one was in early 2018 and lasted several days. The second one, in December 2018 and January 2019, lasted for 35 days.
Trump backs MAGA Congressmen threatening to shut down the government.
"I’d shut down the government if they can’t make an appropriate deal, absolutely.” pic.twitter.com/JW3hXT6ClW
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) September 17, 2023
