Politics

Trump Holds Fast On Shutdown As Advisers Warn Of Consequences

Photo by Isaac Brekken/Getty Images

Saagar Enjeti White House Correspondent
Font Size:

President Donald Trump is insistent he will emerge victorious in a fight with Democratic lawmakers over funding for the border wall while his advisers have increasingly warned him of the partial government shutdown’s ramifications, sources familiar with the situation tell The Daily Caller.

Trump has told confidants in recent days that he is determined to secure some sort of concession from Democratic lawmakers for border barrier funding, even if it means a prolonged partial government shutdown, two sources familiar with the president’s thinking told TheDC. Trump is particularly incensed with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s public position that she will not compromise in any way with the administration over funding.

During the exchange, President Trump called NBC News, "Fake News" after the news agency reported tension between Trump and US Secretary of State Rex Rex Tillerson. The President will travel to Greensboro, North Carolina this evening to participate in a roundtable discussion with Republican National Committee members. (PHOTO: ALEX EDELMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters outside the White House prior to his departure aboard Marine One on October 7, 2017. (PHOTO: ALEX EDELMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

The White House has delivered several offers to Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to end the shutdown, but they have been rebuffed at every turn. Pelosi told Trump in their last face-to-face encounter that she would not even negotiate over increased border barrier funding if he re-opened the government.

The absolutist position of both Democratic lawmakers and Trump has many of his senior advisers worried about economic ramifications. Trump’s advisers have privately tried to shepherd the president toward a scenario where he re-opens the government, as his own administration revised the cost of the shutdown to the overall U.S. economy. (RELATED: Democratic Rep. Katie Hill Says She Would Fund Border Barrier, Blames Impasse On ‘Semantics’)

As the shutdown enters its fourth week, the White House revealed to The New York Times on Tuesday that the U.S. economy is losing .13% economic growth per week. Advisers warned Trump in a recent meeting that if he stuck to his previous pledge to keep the shutdown going for “months or even years,” he risked erasing the narrative of economic growth under his administration, according to one source with direct knowledge.

Mick Mulvaney discusses Nancy Pelosi (Fox News screengrab)

Mick Mulvaney discusses Nancy Pelosi (Fox News screenshot)

This source noted that Trump is obsessed with touting historic economic growth seen in his administration and that those close to him are worried that a prolonged shutdown could even lead to negative growth in the first quarter of 2019.

The presidential advisers’ counsel comes as both sides appear more intransigent than ever, with Trump holding fast for his demand of $5.7 billion in funding. The president is also mulling declaring a national emergency, which would provide him with emergency military funding that he could use to build a wall without congressional authorization.

Trump, however, is shying away from the national emergency declaration, wary of inevitable push-back by Republican members of Congress and setting a precedent his successors could use for political advantage.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel