Senate Republicans are privately venting frustration that President Donald Trump undercut their strategy for ending the government shutdown by suggesting he was open to cutting "the right deal" with Democrats on health care, The Hill reports.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., scheduled three votes this week on a House-passed bill to fund the government through Nov. 21 but failed to pick up any new Democrat support. Several Republicans believe Trump's remarks convinced Democrats that he might be ready to make significant concessions.
"He just muddied the waters, for sure," said one Republican senator, who requested anonymity to avoid angering Trump.
"They think we're wobbling," the lawmaker added, noting that Trump's attempt to walk back his comments "doesn't help this week."
The senator said Trump's mention of a potential deal on Affordable Care Act subsidies gave Democrats the impression that their blockade of the funding bill was working. Other Republicans voiced similar concerns about the president's lack of message discipline during the shutdown.
"It was an opening" for Democrats, said a second Republican senator, who described Trump's remarks as a setback for GOP negotiators.
A third GOP senator told The Hill that Trump's comments "really delayed any resolution," adding, "There was this moment in which Democrats thought they had a path forward that doesn't exist."
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson dismissed the criticism from Senate Republicans.
"President Trump, Speaker Johnson, Leader Thune, and congressional Republicans are all in complete lockstep," Jackson said. "Democrats have chosen to shut down the government because they want to give free health care to illegal aliens. The administration will not negotiate while the American people are being held hostage by Democrats."
Trump later clarified his stance on social media, saying he would negotiate on healthcare only after Democrats vote to fund and reopen the government. But Democratic leaders viewed his earlier comments as leverage in their favor.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told Punchbowl News that Democrats believe they're gaining momentum.
"Every day gets better for us," Schumer said, adding that Trump "was not aware that tens of millions of Americans would pay huge increases in their health care bills" if Affordable Care Act subsidies expire.
Thune rejected suggestions of a rift within GOP leadership.
"I don't know what he's talking about. I mean, we're all on the same page," he said.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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