Press Sec. Leavitt: Pres. Trump Hasn’t Had Any Direct Contact with Dem Lawmakers Regarding the Partial Gov’t Shutdown

EXCERPT:

LEAVITT: “Not to my knowledge. He hasn’t had any direct conversation or correspondence with Democrat lawmakers recently. It doesn’t mean he’s not willing to. I’m just not aware of any conversations that have taken place, I do know the White House and the president’s representatives have been in direct conversations with both Democrats and Republicans. But, of course, Democrats are the reason that the Department of Homeland Security is currently shut down. They have chosen to act against the American people for political reasons, and now we have FEMA workers, the men and women of the United States Coast Guard, men and women of TSA who keep our airports moving, who will be working without paychecks for no good reason other than the Democrats wanting to pick a fight with Donald Trump. And the president thinks that is irresponsible and despicable. He wants the government to be open. We’ve been engaged in good faith negotiations with the Democrats. Last night, they sent over a counter-proposal that, frankly, was very unserious, and we hope they get serious very soon because Americans are going to be impacted by this.”