Many Americans may soon lose crucial federal assistance, leaving some lawmakers asking whether it’s time for Donald Trump to begin negotiating with Democrats. Panelists on Washington Week With The Atlantic joined last night to discuss the mounting pressure to reopen the government, and when—or if—the president will get directly involved.
Trump tends to become “involved when there’s a need for him,” Seung Min Kim, a White House reporter at the Associated Press said last night. “That need is going to come when Republican leaders tell him, ‘Okay, you need to come and do something about this.’” Still, Kim continued, messaging from Republicans has been fairly consistent: To end the shutdown, Democrats will have to vote for the existing funding bill. “That calculus—that line from Republicans down—hasn’t changed as of this point,” she added.
Joining the guest moderator and Atlantic staff writer Vivian Salama to discuss this and more: Paul Beckett, a senior editor at The Atlantic; Jeff Mason, a White House correspondent for Reuters; Kim, the Associated Press White House reporter; and Andrea Mitchell, the chief Washington and foreign affairs correspondent at NBC News.
Watch the full episode here.
