Pirate's Cove

One side is willing to negotiate. The other isn’t. One side thinks MS13 has a spark of divinity, while claiming a wall is immoral.

White House: ‘Large down payment’ on wall could end government shutdown

The White House on Thursday signaled that a “large down payment” on border wall funding — and potentially less than the $5.7 billion that President Trump has long requested — could be sufficient to bring Republicans to the table and end the ongoing partial federal government shutdown.

The possible concession from the White House came just minutes after the Senate rejected both Democratic and GOP proposals to end the shutdown, with both measures falling far short of the 60-vote threshold needed to pass.

But Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissed the proposal shortly afterward as a nonstarter, saying it was “not a reasonable agreement.”

“I don’t know if he knows what he’s talking about,” Pelosi added, referring to Trump.

The White House, in response, slammed Pelosi’s consistent rejections of compromise proposals. The House speaker has previously said she would not support any legislation that includes funding for the wall, which she characterized as an “immorality.”

If Pelosi and so many Dems aren’t willing to negotiate now, why would Trump, his folks, and any elected Republican think they would be willing to talk after the shutdown ends?

“I know some people call her ‘Fancy Nancy’ — these days, I think a better nickname is ‘Dr. No,'” White House adviser Kellyanne Conway told Fox News on Thursday, referring to Pelosi. “Just keep hearing ‘no’ — just ‘no no no’ all the time – you can’t just stomp your feet and say, ‘Harrumph.'”

She’s good at it, though.

“Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Chuck Schumer are meeting now to see whether or not they can work out of the deadlock,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Thursday evening, after the Senate votes. “As was made clear to Sen. Lindsey Graham, the three-week CR [continuing resolution] would only work if there is a large down payment on the wall.”

Pelosi and company do not know the phrase “good faith.”

“I think we need to find a way to reopen the government,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who hosted the talks, saying, “We just need a commitment by Speaker Pelosi that she will take up a bipartisan bill passed by the Senate if we show there’s a way to the President’s desk.”

Graham issued a statement saying, “The way forward is clear to me: a three-week continuing resolution (CR) that includes a down payment on wall/barrier funding and priorities of Democrats for disaster relief, showing good faith from both sides. I strongly urge my Democratic colleagues to work with the White House on a three-week CR that includes a down payment on wall/barrier funding consistent with DHS priorities.”

Graham said he had met with Trump on Wednesday, mostly about Syria, but the two discussed the shutdown, as well. “He feels like he has moved and they haven’t, so to get a short–term [funding bill], he would need to see some movement on the [Democrats’] part.”

Democrats have rejected deal after deal. Again, why would Trump and the GOP think Dems would even come to the table after the shutdown ends?