Pelosi, Schumer declare victory, hope Trump 'learned his lesson'
by Susan Ferrechio
| January 25, 2019 04:17 PM
Democratic leaders took a victory lap Friday after President Trump agreed to end a partial government shutdown without a guarantee that he will ever receive the border wall funding he has demanded since his 2016 campaign.
“Democrats in the Senate and the House were united behind this position throughout the shutdown and ultimately this agreement endorses our position,†Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said after Trump’s announcement. “Hopefully the president has learned his lesson.â€
Trump announced Friday he’ll sign a bill to reopen partially closed departments and agencies closed since Dec. 22 thanks to a fight over border wall funding.
The bill will keep the government fully operational until Feb. 15. The three weeks are intended to provide Democrats and Republicans with a chance to negotiate a comprehensive deal on border security. Trump and Republicans said those discussions would include money for physical barriers on the southern border, but Democrats on Friday appeared as resistant as ever to the idea of federal funding for a wall.
“Democrats are firmly against the wall,†Schumer said Friday, adding that Trump was proven wrong that Democrats would "crack" and vote for the wall.
Pelosi said the president “underestimated†the unity among Democrats.Poll numbers showed the public mostly blamed the president for the shutdown by nearly double digits over Democrats.
“After three weeks as the toll mounted, we made it clear to the public that the president was in charge of the shutdown he knew it was a lost cause," Schumer said.
A small group of Democrats had called on Pelosi to negotiate with the president on a border wall, but few broke ranks.
“No one should ever underestimate the Speaker as Trump has learned,†Schumer said.Schumer said lawmakers agree on many aspects of border security, such as shoring up ports of entry.
“And that bodes well to find an eventual agreement,†Schumer said, “The fact that we have so many areas where we agree.â€
Schumer said he is “very optimistic†negotiators can strike a deal by the end of three weeks, when funding expires.
Pelosi would not commit to even considering a wall but repeated the call for “evidence based knowledge about how best to secure our border.â€
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/pelosi-schumer-declare-victory-hope-trump-learned-his-lesson