President Trump Laments Having to Work While 'You’re Out There Partying’ on New Year's Eve
President Donald Trump spent his New Year’s Eve working at the White House — and he wants the American public to know it.
On Monday night, the 45th commander-in-chief, 72, shared a video of himself on Twitter wishing his followers a happy 2019, and in it, he referenced all he needs to get done over the next few days due to the government shutdown.
“While I’m at the White House working, you’re out there partying tonight,” the president said in the brief clip. “But I don’t blame you. Enjoy yourselves. We’re going to have a great year. Have a really, really happy New Year.”
The former Apprentice host’s holiday plans were disrupted by the government shutdown — which began Saturday, Dec. 22, and centered around a proposed border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, a tent pole of Trump’s presidential campaign.
The day the shutdown began, the real estate mogul tweeted that he was canceling his trip to Mar-a-Lago, his resort in Palm Beach, Florida, so he could work over the holidays. The decision came as hundreds of thousands of federal employees were sent home without pay and many federal services were abruptly halted.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a statement at the time, saying, “Due to the shutdown, President Trump will remain in Washington, D.C. and the First Lady will return from Florida so they can spend Christmas together.”
Although Trump initially promised that Mexico would foot the bill for the wall, he has since demanded that $5 billion for the wall be allotted in Congress’ yet-to-be-passed plan to fund part of the government, which was due on Friday, Dec. 21, at midnight, The New York Times reported. The House passed the bill on Dec. 20, but it stalled in the Senate as Republicans and Democrats were not able to come to an agreement.
The Times reported on Monday that the Democrats are putting two new bills up for a vote on Thursday in hopes of ending the shutdown. If passed, the first of the bills would fund several major federal agencies through the end of the fiscal year. The second would provide $1.3 billion for a border fence but nothing for the wall. Because the latter would never pass in the majority Republican Senate, Democrats are hoping the first bill will still pass, effectively reopening the government without funding the wall.
On Monday, the president was vocal on Twitter and in a Fox News interview about his efforts to end the shutdown.
“I spent Christmas in the White House, I spent New Year’s Eve now in the White House,” Trump said on Fox News, according to the Times. “And you know, I’m here, I’m ready to go. It’s very important. A lot of people are looking to get their paycheck, so I’m ready to go whenever they want.”
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In a tweet Monday night, he added: “Throughout the ages some things NEVER get better and NEVER change. You have Walls and you have Wheels. It was ALWAYS that way and it will ALWAYS be that way! Please explain to the Democrats that there can NEVER be a replacement for a good old fashioned WALL!”
In a confrontational meeting in December with Vice President Mike Pence, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Trump said that he would be “proud to shut down the government for border security.”
This is the third government shutdown during the president’s time in office.