"There are missed paychecks for federal workers, travel disruptions and SNAP food assistance is at risk for millions of Americans. The White House and Republicans in Congress blame Democrats in the Senate for refusing to support a short-term funding bill that would re-open the government. "They've lost their minds," Trump said of Democrats from Air Force One on his way to Florida. "All they have to do is say the government is open, and that's the end of it.""
"In 1995, President Clinton canceled a planned trip to Japan during the government shutdown so he could stay at the White House for talks with Republicans who controlled both the House and Senate. "We spent a number of days in the Oval Office basically negotiating trying to see if we could find a way to resolve it," said Leon Panetta, who was Clinton's chief of staff at the time. "Because the last thing we wanted to do was to have the government shut down. That, unfortunately, is no longer the case.""
President Trump spent nearly two weeks outside Washington since the government shutdown began, including a weekend at Mar-a-Lago and a multi-country Asia trip. The shutdown caused missed paychecks for federal workers, travel disruptions, and threatened SNAP benefits for millions. The White House and congressional Republicans blamed Senate Democrats for not supporting a short-term funding bill to reopen the government, and the president publicly criticized Democrats. The president's overseas travel during the shutdown departs from past presidential practice; Presidents Clinton and Obama canceled Asia trips to remain in Washington during prior shutdowns. The travel drew comparisons to earlier crisis responses.
Read at www.npr.org
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