White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Wednesday that the government shutdown will only end when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., decides it’s time for her to get “serious” about her new leadership role.
“Nancy Pelosi has been unwilling to do anything, and it’s simply not going to work, and it’s not going to fix the problem,” Sanders said on Fox News. “She’s gotta get serious about doing her job, and not just be serious about being a political figure.”
Trump and most Republicans have blamed Democrats for refusing to entertain any compromise that would give Trump some funding for a part of the southern border wall he wants to build. Pelosi said Democrats would never give Trump any border wall funding, and as a result, there’s been no deal with Trump on a bill to reopen parts of the government that are lacking funding.
“Democrats have got to stop ignoring the problem, sit down with the president at the table and help us come to a solution,” Sanders said. “It’s now time for the Democrats to work with us and fix this problem. So far, they’ve been unwilling to do so.”
When asked if Trump might buckle under the pressure of the shutdown that has started to pinch hundreds of thousands of federal workers, Sanders said Trump will negotiate, but needs some counteroffer from Democrats.
“The president will negotiate, but at this point, he’s not going to negotiate with himself,” she said.
“He’s the only one that has a proposal on the table,” Sanders added. “Democrats have yet to put anything forward other than obstruction.”
