Second Government Shutdown ‘Not Going To Happen,’ Predicts John Kasich
After spanning more than a month, the longest government shutdown in United States history finally came to an end last week when President Donald Trump announced he would agree to sign a stop-gap deal that would re-open the government, a promise he followed through with on Friday evening. There was a slight catch to the deal, however, as it would only fund the government for three weeks, posing the threat of another shutdown if a new deal isn’t made by Friday, February 15.
President Trump is remaining firm on his demand that the new deal reached contains the $5.7 billion needed to build his campaign-promised border wall, meaning there is a looming threat of a second shutdown if the funding is not provided, though former Ohio Governor John Kasich said recently he doesn’t see it happening, the Hill reported.
Kasich made the prediction when he appeared on CNN on Monday, January 28, also noting that he thought the president was “posturing” during an interview on Sunday when he said that there was “less than 50-50” percent chance a compromise would be reached by the 17 lawmakers tasked with negotiating a deal to prevent a repeat of the last month.
“You’ve got these members of Congress who are going to try to work something out,” Kasich said. “I think they will try. The question is, are there people in that room who are willing to make some compromises?”
The former presidential candidate confidently predicted, however, that a second government shutdown is “not going to happen.”
“We’re not going to shut the government down again. That’s just not going to happen. The President couldn’t take that, the people don’t want that … The Democrats know the border needs to be protected, everybody believes that. The question is how?” fmr Ohio Gov. @JohnKasich says. pic.twitter.com/AdDwm6bSR3
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) January 28, 2019
“The president couldn’t take that, the people don’t want it,” he said, further explaining that he thought Trump would likely declare “some kind of national emergency” if he doesn’t get any agreement for a border wall over the next three weeks.
Ultimately, Kasich predicted the upcoming negotiations would end with “something along the lines of a smart wall.”
“Democrats know the border needs to be protected. Everybody needs that. The question is how,” he said.
Kasich’s prediction comes after the Associated Press reported that acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney told reporters on Sunday morning that while President Trump doesn’t want to shut down the government again, he is prepared to do so if need be.
President Donald Trump is prepared for another government shutdown if Congress won't work with him to secure the southern border, acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said. https://t.co/FWI3GTKkqZ
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 27, 2019
“At the end of the day, the president’s commitment is to defend the nation and he will do it with or without Congress,” Mulvaney said.
The previous government shutdown came to an end last Friday after a record-setting 35 days, making it the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
