Trump's relationship with top Dems 'deteriorating' amid shutdown standoff

The relationship between President Donald Trump and top Democrats may be “deteriorating” as the two parties inched closer but ultimately fell short on an agreement that would have reopened the federal government before Monday.

The revelation comes as the federal government shutdown stretches into its third day. There is an expected procedural vote in the Senate on Monday at noon that would fund the government until Feb. 8, The Wall Street Journal reported. But it is unclear if there’s enough support and it would not reopen the government.

Marc Short, the White House director of legislative affairs, told Fox News Sunday that the relationship between Trump, Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is “probably deteriorating” since the shutdown began on Saturday at 12:01 a.m.
During the Friday meeting with Trump, Schumer reportedly agreed to only one-year appropriation for the border wall. The White House dismissed such offer, instead demanding a multi-year package for the administration’s signature issue.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Schumer said on Sunday that negotiations were underway and the exact details of a proposal taking shape are unclear.
“We have yet to reach an agreement on a path forward,” Schumer said late Sunday, hoping for a firmer commitment from the Republicans to protect roughly 700,000 younger immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. as children.
The GOP is becoming increasingly confident that Democrats will ultimately blink and vote to end the shutdown amid to mounting criticism and blame for the standoff. The White House and Republican leadership insisted they will not enter negotiations on immigration until the government is funded.
Some Democrats reportedly expressed worries of the political costs due to the showdown in the wake of the midterm elections this year.
Republican Sens. Jeff Flake and Lindsey Graham – who opposed the bill on Friday – are thought to be supportive of the vote, Short said. Five Democrats from states won by Trump also broke ranks in a vote on Friday.
The vote on an actual bill re-opening the government would come late Monday or as late as Tuesday evening, depending on the success of the early Monday vote.
Trump urged the Senate on Sunday to deploy the so-called “nuclear option” – changing Senate rules to end the filibuster that requires the bills to reach a 60 vote threshold rather than a simple majority.
McConnell dismissed the suggestion, noting that the rule will be welcomed once the Republicans become the minority in the Senate.
As the government shutdown stretches into the work week, some effects of the political standoff could be felt by the general population.
But White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that the Americans will not see a “dramatic difference” because, unlike the Obama administration in 2013, the current administration is not trying to “weaponize” the situation.
“The effects won’t actually be as visible as they were as in 2013,” Mulvaney told “Fox News Sunday.” “Keep in mind that in 2013, the only way I can describe it, was the Obama administration chose to weaponize the shutdown. They wanted it to be showy. They went out of their way to hurt more people and to be more visible.”