This USA Today characterization of government shutdown threats is nonsense

Instead of presenting the issue as one where Democrats issued the threat, and then seemingly backed off after President Donald Trump vented about it on social media, USA Today suggested Thursday that talk of a government shutdown has been primarily of the president’s own doing.

“Trump says Democrats want shutdown, but party leaders say it won’t happen,” read the news group’s headline.

The report’s opening paragraph reads, “Congressional leaders in both parties said Thursday they expect to pass legislation to prevent a government shutdown, despite a tweetstorm from President Trump accusing Democrats of trying to force one.”

This isn’t a clear representation of the facts. Here’s the basic timeline of what has happened so far:

Democratic leaders first warned of a possible shutdown on March 13 when they sent a note to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., saying they would not support a $1 trillion-plus catchall spending package so long as it included, among other things, funding for the president’s proposed wall along the Southern border.

“We believe it would be inappropriate to insist on the inclusion of (wall) funding in a must-pass appropriations bill that is needed for the Republican majority in control of the Congress to avert a government shutdown so early in President Trump’s administration,” read the letter, which was signed by Sen. Minority Leader Check Schumer, D-N.Y., and other top Democratic leaders.

The letter added that there would be consequences for any attempts to include “poison pill” riders in the bill. Translation: Democrats won’t go along with the funding measure if it’s not to their liking, which would result eventually in a government shutdown.

“We hope our Republican colleagues will work with us in a bipartisan way so that the appropriations process meets the needs of the American people,” Schumer’s letter said.

“If Republicans insist on inserting poison pill riders such as defunding Planned Parenthood, building a border wall, or starting a deportation force, they will be shutting down the government and delivering a severe blow to our economy,” it added.

On Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., suggested a short-term deal to keep the government funded was possible – provided Democratic leaders stop “dragging their feet.”

His remarks came not long after Trump griped about the issue that morning on social media.

“The Democrats want to shut government if we don’t bail out Puerto Rico and give billions to their insurance companies for [Obamacare] failure. NO!” he said on Twitter. “Democrats jeopardizing the safety of our troops to bail out their donors from insurance companies. It is time to put #AmericaFirst.”

Later that same day, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., seemed to back off her party’s earlier flirtation with the idea of a shutdown, saying, “We are committed to keeping government open.”

“We are hoping we will be able to resolve these differences,” she added.

Schumer himself said, “When the Trump administration takes into account the Democratic position and is willing to move in our direction, they can make progress on issues.”

“There are some sticking points that remain, but I’m optimistic we can come up with an agreement very soon. The final product will be something that both sides can be proud of,” he added.

Yet, from all of this, USA Today gave its readers a headline this morning suggesting it is Trump who has been doing all the talking about a possible shutdown.

It’s not quite accurate, but it makes for a clickable headline.

(h/t Gabriel Malor)