‘Chuck And Nancy’ Battle Trump Over Government Shutdown
Nancy Pelosi, Vice President Pence, President Trump and Chuck Schumer Image by Getty Images
There was yelling. There was finger-pointing. There were threats to shut down the government.
Just another Tuesday in the White House.
In an extraordinary meeting between President Trump, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and likely incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi devolved into sparring over payments for border security.
“Chuck and Nancy,” as they’ve come to be known, sat across from each other on couches in the Oval Office, on opposite sides of Trump.
“We do not want to shut down the government. You have called twenty times to shut down the government. … We don’t,” Schumer said to Trump.
Trump retorted: “I am proud to shut down the government for border security.”
Pelosi tried to end it, a few times: “I don’t think we should have a debate in front of the press on this.”
President Trump engages in an Oval Office clash with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi over border security as the shutdown deadline looms
Pelosi: “I don’t think we should have a debate in front of the press on this” pic.twitter.com/gopvtJKpXO
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) December 11, 2018
This isn’t the first time the president has threatened to shut down the government over funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to Huffpost. He wants $5 billion for the wall, but Schumer and Pelosi suggest a set of bipartisan proposals that give $1.3 billion toward border security. The deadline to reach a new funding deal is Dec. 21.
Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
