Paul Ryan: Dems Would Like Nothing Better Than a Shutdown

President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan both suggested on Thursday that Democrats "want" a government shutdown.

Congress has until Friday to reach a funding agreement before the government is forced to shut down. After the president tweeted that Democrats "want" a shutdown to "distract" from Republicans' victory in passing a tax bill, Ryan told CNBC's "Squawk Box" that he agrees.

"I think the Democrats are going to try to play some partisan games today because they would love nothing more than to see a government shutdown, blame us for having it, and step on our tax cut message, tax reform message," he said.

The House released a short-term continuing resolution on Thursday to fund the government until mid-January, if Congress cannot reach a long-term agreement.

"We're just bringing a clean, what we call vanilla CR — no games, no sneaky things. Just a continuing resolution to get us through this moment to get us into next year," Ryan said. "It's as clean and simple as possible. It's what the Senate on both sides of the aisle are asking us for."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell disagreed with Trump and Ryan, saying at an Axios event that "no one wants" a shutdown.

A spokesperson for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi defended Democrats' reaction to the resolution, saying that the party is "simply asking for action on the broad set of bipartisan priorities before the Congress," including protections for healthcare programs, as well as protections for those covered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy in the previous administration.

"Republicans hold the House, the Senate and the White House," Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill added. "If they need Democratic votes, then they should incorporate the bipartisan proposals we are calling for into the continuing resolution."

• Trump Says Dems Covet Shutdown as Distraction to Tax Reform
• With Shutdown Clock Ticking, GOP Struggles for Spending Deal