As the government shutdown unfurled, the United States ‘negotiator-in-chief’ President Donald Trump disappeared behind closed-doors for nearly 72 hours.
Trump made no public appearances as legislators hammered out a deal, leaving it to senior aides to push his position on camera.
Occasional tweets, statements on his activities and hand-out photos distributed by his White House were the only sign of life for the head of the executive branch.
As the government shutdown unfurled, the United States ‘negotiator-in-chief’ President Donald Trump disappeared behind closed-doors for nearly 72 hours
Trump was said to be chatting up House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn and receiving regular updates from Cabinet secretaries and senior staff.
He was pointedly giving Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and everyone else in the opposing party the silent treatment, the White House has said, in an attempt to undermine their negotiating tactics.
‘The great deal-making president sat on the sidelines,’ Schumer declared in a Monday afternoon floor speech just before the Senate voted to restart funding for the government.
The agreement came about despite the ‘glaring absence of the president,’ who Schumer said had not spoken to him since an in-person conversation Friday at the White House.
Both men came away from the talk believing that they had made ‘progress’ only to find hours later that they were not on the same page after all.
With an hour and a half to do go until the Senate vote on Monday morning, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders argued that Trump had stayed out of the fray because ‘Democrats aren’t exactly reliable players in this process.’
‘Certainly not honest brokers,’ she said. ‘And we’re looking for more…honest conversations where you can actually move the ball forward, and his attempt on Friday, I think with senator Schumer showed that he may not be the most honest broker in this process.’
Schumer claimed all weekend in floor speeches and press statements that he and Trump had agreed on the contours of a deal only to have White House Chief of Staff John Kelly call later to slap it down.
Sen. Lindsey Graham singled out White House senior advisor Stephen Miller as the wayward staffer pulling Trump away from a deal and sending the entire federal government over the fiscal cliff.
The White House maintained throughout the shutdown that Democrats were to blame for the mess.
‘They put politics above our national security, military families, vulnerable children, and our country’s ability to serve all Americans,’ a statement read. ‘We will not negotiate the status of unlawful immigrants while Democrats hold our lawful citizens hostage over their reckless demands.’
Turning the screws, the White House statement said: ‘This is the behavior of obstructionist losers, not legislators.
‘When Democrats start paying our armed forces and first responders we will reopen negotiations on immigration reform. During this politically manufactured Schumer Shutdown, the President and his Administration will fight for and protect the American people.’
With Trump out of the picture, Republicans in the Senate ultimately brokered a deal that would allow funds to flow through Feb. 8. It hinged on a promise that immigration talks would commence immediately.
Trump is demanding $20 billion for his border wall and the restriction of companion visas to approved applicant’s nuclear family.
He also wants an end to the diversity visa lottery system that the administration has blamed for the activity in the U.S. of foreign-born terrorists.
Democrats say they want a permanent solution for illegal immigrants who came to the United States in their youth.
According to Schumer, they are willing at this point to accept an agreement that protects the Dreamers and gives Trump the money he’s requested for his border wall.