Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota said McConnell doesn’t want to put a president of his own party in a box by backing the wall-free House bill reopening the government.
“If he were to say, I agree that it should move and the president doesn’t, then you have a veto on your hands,” Rounds said. “He’s not going to do that to the president. The president really needs to negotiate.”
Other Senate Republicans say they are frustrated and casting about for ways to resolve the impasse, though only a few have directly criticized Trump.
Gardner, arguably the most endangered Senate Republican in 2020, in a statement called for McConnell to pass spending bills to reopen the government “while we continue to fight for more border security money.” Senator Rob Portman of Ohio suggested reaching deals to reopen most of the government while the border fight continues.
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