White House officials blasted Senate Democrats on Friday for jeopardizing paychecks for U.S. military personnel by refusing to vote for a four-week spending bill, a move that has increased the likelihood of a government shutdown at midnight.
“We don’t want this. We do not want a shutdown, but [Senate Democratic Leader Chuck] Schumer insists on this,” Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told reporters.
Marc Short, the White House legislative director, said the reality is “we will jeopardize payments for our military and our troops” if Democrats succeed in blocking the short-term spending legislation.
“The military will still go to work, they will not get paid. The border will still be patrolled, they will not get paid … Parks will be open, they will not get paid,” Short said, railing against Democrats who he described as “hellbent on getting a shutdown.”
“Don’t lose sight of the fact that we are asking the military to work without pay. We are asking firefighters to work without pay,” he said. “We are not going to try to hurt people, especially people who work for this government. But we still need Congress to appropriate the funds.”
Senate Democrats on Thursday said they have the votes to kill a spending bill that passed the House late last night, and may do so if congressional GOP leaders and the White House refuse to take up a bill that would codify protections for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
“It still surprises me that the Democrats in the Senate are opposing a bill that they don’t oppose,” Mulvaney told reporters, claiming there is no element of the spending bill that Republicans’ political opponents would normally object to on ideological grounds.
President Trump met with senior Pentagon officials and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Thursday to discuss how to prepare for a government shutdown in the event that one occurs.
“The president expressed his continued commitment to supporting our war-fighters with increased and predictable funding to achieve peace through strength – and America First priority,” according to a readout of the conversation provided by the White House on Friday.
