WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s budget director has held out hope that feuding Democrats and Republicans in Congress can reach a short-term spending agreement before the start of the workweek on Monday, but he worries that the government shutdown could last for several more days if progress remains elusive.

Democratic lawmakers challenged the president to get more involved and to accept bipartisan compromise as a way out of a shutdown that entered its second day on Sunday amid finger-pointing from both parties as to who bears primary responsibility.

“I really do believe that at heart here there was an interest by some folks in the Democratic Party to deny the president sort of the victory lap of the anniversary of his inauguration, the chance to talk about the success of the tax bill, the success of the economy and jobs,” budget director Mick Mulvaney said on “Fox News Sunday.” “And I think if they get over that, there’s a chance this thing gets done before 9 o’clock on Monday morning when folks come to work.” Democratic lawmakers counter that the president hurt negotiations when he initially expressed support for a compromise and then abruptly turned away from it.

“How can you negotiate with the president under those circumstances where he agrees face-to-face to move forward with a certain path and then within two hours calls back and pulls the plug?” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., on ABC’s “This Week.” Five Republicans were among the senators who voted on Friday night against a House-passed plan. The measure gained 50 votes to proceed to 49 against, but 60 were needed to break a Democratic filibuster. One of those senators, Republican Rand Paul of Kent­ucky, said he is opposed to short-term fiscal bills and called the blame game “ridiculous on both sides.” “It’s gamesmanship and it’s partisanship,” Paul said.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2018