Trump Throws Wrench Into Negotiations By Demanding House Republicans ‘Defund These Political Persecutions Against Me’
Donald Trump/Truth Social
Mere hours after some House Republicans reported progress on a proposal to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month, Donald Trump demanded they use the opportunity to “defund” Special Counsel Jack Smith and his team.
Smith is prosecuting Trump in federal court in Florida and Washington, D.C., where the former president will stand trial over his retention of government documents and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, respectively.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has had his hands full trying to get his own conference to agree on a proposal to keep the government funded beyond Sept. 30. Hardline Republicans such as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) have demanded the House pass 12 individual single-subject spending bills rather than one large omnibus package that funds the entire federal government.
McCarthy is reportedly seeking the passage of a 30-day stopgap bill to avoid a shutdown in two weeks while the House hammers out the 12 spending packages.
But on Wednesday night, Trump, who is running for president again, crashed the negotiations on Truth Social, à la the Kool-Aid Man bursting through a wall at a kids’ party:
A very important deadline is approaching at the end of the month. Republicans in Congress can and must defund all aspects of Crooked Joe Biden’s weaponized Government that refuses to close the Border, and treats half the Country as Enemies of the State. This is also the last chance to defund these political prosecutions against me and other Patriots. They failed on the debt limit, but they must not fail now. Use the power of the purse and defend the Country!
Given that the Democratic-controlled Senate and President Joe Biden would have to approve any bill the House passes, the idea of defunding Smith’s office is basically dead on arrival. Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped Trump’s allies in Congress from posturing on his behalf. In August, Gaetz introduced a measure to censor the judge in Trump’s D.C. trial after the former president repeatedly attacked her online.
