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A month after the start of the government's closure, Republican senators are firmly supporting President Trump's request to obtain money for the construction of a border wall, even as the GOP carries the bill. Essential of the responsibility of a stalemate that few people in the party agitate, according to past interviews. week with over 40 senators and Republican aides.
Under pressure from the Conservatives to help Trump keep his campaign promise and unable to persuade him to avoid the partial closure of the government, these lawmakers have almost gone to the will of the president. Their comments show that the flaws of the 53-member Republican majority that appeared at the beginning of the closure did not extend beyond a handful of lawmakers.
Asked about pressure from voters and some of the 800,000 federal workers involved to end the stalemate, GOP Senators insisted that they faced equal insistence, if not superior, to support Trump and his $ 5.7 billion call for a US-Mexico border wall. especially conservative voters.
This week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Is considering following up on Trump's latest offer to Democrats – temporary protections for some immigrants in exchange for billions of dollars in cash a bill to reopen the government. Almost all Republicans indicated that they supported the plan.
Congressional Democrats rejected the proposal and refused to negotiate with the president until the government reopened. The near-uniformity of both sides suggests the prospect of a prolonged shutdown and highlights the new dynamics in the era of divided government. While Trump faces a Democrat-led House and wants to challenge it, the Republican-controlled Senate has in fact become an extension of the White House.
"I do not envision anything that the president has not signed," said Sen. Todd C. Young (R-Ind.), Chairman of the Republican Senate's campaign arm for 2020. Asked about a Compromise bill, Young has repeated, word for word.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) And other Republican Senators are facing reporters at a press conference. (Joshua Roberts / Bloomberg News)
Led by McConnell, most GOP Senators say there is little point in looking at closing solutions that are not blessed by Trump.
"As we all know, the president is very attached to the problems. And he is a carnivore, "said Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.), Who recently flew on Air Force One with Trump. "And on that one, I can tell you that he thinks he is right."
Senator Richard Burr (NR) stated: "The President will not sign it, why should we work there?"
"I am ready to vote for anything that the President agrees to sign," said Senator John Barrbado (Wyo.), Republican of the Senate in third place. "And once we get that, I'll be" yes "."
The posture is a radical reversal from last month, when Senate Republicans voted unanimously to fund the federal government without satisfying the Trump Wall's demand. This also contrasts with the first two years of the Trump administration, when Republicans controlled all levers of the government but failed to stay on course. Few in the GOP matched Trump's enthusiasm for a wall he had repeatedly promised Mexico to fund.
During dozens of talks with the Washington Post, only six Republican senators were ready to say they would support the reopening of the government without money and without the approval of the president being a prerequisite. Some Republicans, such as Detective Cory Gardner (Colorado), Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), have made it clear, since the start of the closure, that they would support a spending law to end the impbade, even without wall funding.
"Just a few weeks ago, they had no qualms about saying," Yes, let's move on to action. [a stopgap funding measure] until February 8th "with nothing. They did not ask for anything and they were good at the time, "Murkowski told his Republican colleagues. "And now, are not we good with that?"
When asked if she thought Republicans in the Senate, in the broadest sense of the word, were afraid to go through Trump, Murkowski replied, "I think some are, absolutely."
Others, like the Republican Sense. Alexander Lamar (Tennessee), Lindsey O. Graham (SC) and Rob Portman (Ohio), argue for a short-term spending measure to reopen the government in order to give legislators time to consider Trump's request at the border – a strategy that the White House rejected.
But these voices are by far the farthest. Many Republican states in the Senate – swinging states to conservative states, top leaders at the grbadroots level, Trump's acolytes to Trump's critics – support the president's stance and have remained inflexible, despite pressure from Democrats and growing consequences of government closure. .
Many Republican senators also said they would support any compromise on funding the wall below the administration's demand of $ 5.7 billion, provided that, once again, it was awarded the seal of approval. Trump's approval.
"I am not in favor of a resolution of this stalemate that does not include a wall," said Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah).
"The president will not sign anything," said Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). "Rather than wasting time on votes to try to pressure the president, or to pressure Pelosi, or to make a political statement, I think President Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer should meet."
Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) Commented: "I have gone so far, I am staying with the President on this and I am ready to let his strategy unfold."
Yet in the private sector, major Republicans are expressing concern over the long-term impact of the closure and deterioration of the Washington atmosphere after weeks of hard work and lack of substantive bargaining for Washington. reopen the government.
White House officials and GOP leaders would virtually accept any offer from Democrats to end the stalemate, hoping that they would sell it to Trump as a "victory" and advance, said a close Republican from the government and congressional leaders. This person, who spoke under cover of anonymity to discuss private conversations, said that he was extremely appalled at how badly the closure was going and that polls showed that many Americans Trump accused.
The GOP is increasingly worried that the longer the closure takes, the more likely the party will suffer politically.
Fifty-six percent of voters said Trump and congressional Republicans were responsible for the closure, According to a recent poll by Quinnipiac University, 36 percent said congressional democrats were responsible for it. The results were similar to those of a previous Washington Post-ABC News poll, which showed that Americans found Trump and GOP more accountable.
Other polls that have separated Republicans from Trump's Congress show that GOP lawmakers carry much less reproach than the president or Democrats on the Hill. A poll conducted by CBS News-YouGov from January 9-11 revealed that only 3 percent of the general public blamed Republicans for this partial closure, compared to 47 percent for Trump and 30 percent for congressional Democrats.
The shutdown also weighed on Trump's personal approval ratings – a drop that occurred during a tumultuous time in the White House, including many vacancies in the Cabinet, an antagonistic house eager to open its doors. Administration investigations and uncertainty as to the outcome of the investigation of the special advocate Robert S. Mueller III on the interference of Russia in the 2016 election and its links potential with the Trump campaign.
An NPR-Marist poll last week Trump's overall approval rating has not only gone down, but it has also dropped sharply among major tenants in its political base – suburban, white evangelical and registered Republican men.
At the same time, the Post-ABC poll illustrated Republicans' pressure from their political base to remain steadfast in the fight. The survey showed that wall support jumped by 16 percentage points last year.
While many Republican senators – particularly those who participated in the poll next year in a presidential cycle – have evaded their questions about the potential repercussions, others candidly admitted that they would probably bad at their base if they decided not to align with Trump.
"If the president did not agree on a solution and the Republicans tried to force it, it would have a political cost," said Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho).
Republicans also expressed frustration with the Democrats, noting that previous presidents had secured funding for the construction of gates along the southern border, while the Trump administration could only repair the fences. existing.
GOP Senators are also increasingly irritated by democratic tactics – such as Pelosi's proposal that Trump should postpone the January 29 speech on the state of the Union until the end of the day. government reopening for security reasons – and the insistence of the president that there is no money for a wall any deal that resolves the stalemate.
"What I do not understand is how Nancy Pelosi can be as inept a negotiator as she is not trying to get something that she and her colleagues really want," said Senator Kevin Cramer (RN.D.).
Senate Republicans have largely decided to stay in close contact with the President, even as the closure has affected their original states.
Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), along with other agriculture lawmakers, is under pressure from the negative impact of the closure on farmers, who have been hit hard by Trump's trade war . The administration has extended a key deadline for farmers to apply for rescue funds to offset the difficulties in tariffs. But some have warned that the industry could face other setbacks if closure continues.
When asked if she would be willing to support a bill without spending money, Ernst – a new member of the Senate leadership who will be voting next year – replied: "I would like know that the president, uh, would support it. "
What about a compromise bill?
"Only if the president signed it," Ernst replied.
In a 20-minute interview, Murkowski described in detail the pain caused by the partial closure of Alaska. The state, with its federally managed lands, its fisheries managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the largest coastguard base in the country at Kodiak, has more federal employees affected by closing than any other.
"I understand that my urgency may be urgent because I come from a state that is currently experiencing very serious consequences. And it's frustrating for me that other colleagues do not share this sense of urgency, "said Murkowski.
Senator Dan Sullivan (right), from his home country, pointed out that he strongly supported the president's demands, calling it "eminently reasonable" and pointing out that the Democratic senators had collected more than $ 25 billion in February funds.
Border Republicans are particularly firm behind Trump, who went to McAllen, Texas, earlier this month, as he intensified his public relations efforts for the wall.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), A McConnell confidant who is expected to be re-elected next year, answered "Uh, no," to the question of whether he would agree to vote for a project of law does not include financing a wall.
"The president will not sign it," said Cornyn.
Damian Paletta contributed to this report.
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