Trump drops a bomb on Republican deal to avoid a government shutdown his White House said he supported by demanding that a measure to renew CHIP is taken out

  • Republican leaders in Congress were rounding up the votes on Thursday to pass another temporary extension in government funding and prevent a shutdown
  • President Trump undercut their strategy with a demand that the Children's Health Insurance Program be axed from the bill
  • Not only does the position put him in conflict with his own White House, it threatens to derail his party's efforts to pass a stop-gap bill once again
  • A policy statement distributed by the White House yesterday explicitly backed the provision reauthorizing CHIP for half a decade
  • House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday at a presser that Trump backs the bill to prevent a shutdown just the way it is 
  • White House did little to clear up the confusion, saying only that Trump backs a short-term resolution

Just as Republican leaders in Congress were rounding up the votes on Thursday needed to pass another temporary extension in government funding and prevent a shutdown at week's end, President Trump undercut their strategy with a demand that the Children's Health Insurance Program be axed from the bill. 

Trump said in a Thursday morning tweet that he does not want the spending plan under development in the House to include a six-year reauthorization of CHIP.

'CHIP should be part of a long term solution, not a 30 Day, or short term, extension!' he said.

Not only does the position put him in conflict with his own White House, it threatened to derail his party's efforts to pass a stop-gap bill once again. 

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Just as Republican leaders in Congress were rounding up the votes on Thursday needed to pass another temporary extension in government funding and prevent a shutdown at week's end, President Trump undercut their strategy with a demand that the Children's Health Insurance Program be axed from the bill

Just as Republican leaders in Congress were rounding up the votes on Thursday needed to pass another temporary extension in government funding and prevent a shutdown at week's end, President Trump undercut their strategy with a demand that the Children's Health Insurance Program be axed from the bill

Trump said Thursday morning that he does not want the spending plan under development in the House to include a six-year reauthorization of CHIP

Trump said in a Thursday morning tweet that he does not want the spending plan under development in the House to include a six-year reauthorization of CHIP

 Not only does the position put him in conflict with his own White House, it threatens to derail his party's efforts to pass a stop-gap bill once again

 Not only does the position put him in conflict with his own White House, it threatens to derail his party's efforts to pass a stop-gap bill once again

House Speaker Paul Ryan subsequently said at a press conference on Thursday morning where he hammered Democrats for rejecting Republicans' CHIP olive branch that Trump does support the deal.

Ryan said he had not seen Trump's tweet on CHIP but he had spoken to him on the phone and was assured then that the president was on board with the continuing resolution.

'I am sure where he stands. He fully supports passing this legislation,' Ryan claimed. 'He fully supports what we're bringing to the floor today.' 

For months, the Republican-controlled Congress has been struggling to reach an agreement to fund the government, which is currently operating on its third continuing resolution since the 2018 fiscal year began on Oct. 1.

Democrats have insisted that a long-term spending bill include protections for 'Dreamers' - young adults brought to the country illegally as children who were protected from deportation by former President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.

But bipartisan congressional negotiations with the White House faltered last week, prompting Republican leaders to begin pushing for the passage of a stopgap measure to fund the government through Feb. 16.

Already, it was unclear whether the House Republicans would get enough votes to pass the measure in that chamber on Thursday morning.

Then, President Trump then offered his two cents on Twitter.

'A government shutdown will be devastating to our military...something the Dems care very little about!' Trump said in a tweet that blamed the opposing party for the crisis.

At the Pentagon on Thursday, Trump urged Democrats to vote for a short-term spending resolution to keep the military from being hobbled

At the Pentagon on Thursday, Trump urged Democrats to vote for a short-term spending resolution to keep the military from being hobbled

Just yesterday, the White House said  it supported the passage of a short-term measure to fund the government, although it wasn't ideal.

'We do support the short-term CR,' White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters, referring to the so-called continuing resolution.

'Let's make a budget deal by Friday and let's come back to work aggressively on Monday and make a deal on DACA and responsible immigration reform,' Sanders added.

A statement of administration policy distributed by the White House's Office of Management and Budget shortly after explicitly backed the provision reauthorizing CHIP for half a decade.

'This legislation funds the Federal Government at current spending levels through February 16, providing more time for the Congress and the Administration to reach a longer-term funding agreement,' the statement said. 'The Administration supports the bill’s multiyear funding extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).'

It was not clear on Thursday whether Trump understood that his administration had backed the renewal less than 24 hours before.

A statement from White House deputy spokesman Raj Shah did little to clear the controversy up.

'The President supports the continuing resolution introduced in the House. Congress needs to do its job and provide full funding of our troops and military with a two year budget caps deal. However, as the deal is negotiated, the President wants to ensure our military and national security are funded. He will not let it be held hostage by Democrats,' Shah said.

In a pointed visit to the Pentagon on Thursday morning after he sent the tweets, President Trump sounded the alarm on a government shutdown.

He did not mention CHIP but said a shutdown would wreak havoc on the military, and one can only be prevented if Democrats end their attempt to score political points on him. 

'Could happen. We'll see what happens. It's up to the Democrats,' he said from the military hub's steps. 

Republicans hold a slim 51-49 majority in the Senate and most legislation, including spending bills or an immigration deal, will require 60 votes for passage.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the Senate would take up the short-term funding measure as soon as the House approves it. 

On Wednesday, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said there was 'revulsion' among his colleagues for the stopgap proposal in the House and that an 'overwhelming number' would not support it, however.

At least one Republican, Senator Lindsey Graham, who is involved in the immigration negotiations, has also said he would not vote for a short-term funding measure.

Republicans in the House might not have the votes in the House to pass a short-term fix in the first place, given that members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus would prefer additional defense funding.

The group's leader, Representative Mark Meadows, said on Wednesday evening that while his members disliked the deal, the chances for a shutdown 'are very unlikely because no one wants one.' 

At a presser that competed with Ryan's, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that CHIP should have been taken care of months ago.

'This is like giving you a bowl of doggy doo, put a cherry on top and call it a chocolate sundae. This is nothing,' she said, grasping for words. 'We wanted 10 years. We wanted permanent CHIP.'

House Speaker Paul Ryan subsequently said at a press conference on Thursday morning where he hammered Democrats for rejecting Republicans' CHIP olive branch that Trump does support the dea

House Speaker Paul Ryan subsequently said at a press conference on Thursday morning where he hammered Democrats for rejecting Republicans' CHIP olive branch that Trump does support the dea

A blowup over immigration policy has also prevented lawmakers from reaching a long-term deal to keep the government running. 

With government funding set to expire at midnight on Friday, McConnell said Congress is 'not yet ready' to move ahead with a substantial deal, as he called for passage of the short-term funding bill to kick talks to next month.

Sanders said Thursday that the short-term resolution was 'not our first choice' but the White House would support it.

On Thursday evening White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said it was 'unlikely' a deal could be brokered on immigration by the time the current spending resolution runs out on Friday. 

Members of the bipartisan 'Gang of Six' group of senators have continued to look for a solution to renew DACA protections, fund border security and revamp the visa system, but an extraordinary blowup in which  President Trump reportedly blasted immigrants from 's***hole countries' stalled negotiations.

The House's Republican funding measure does not include Democrats' demands to shield Dreamers or any of the immigration measures. 

Ryan said Thursday as he filleted Democrats at a presser that he believes he can pass the legislation on the backs of Republicans.