Dem senator on shutdown talks: Trump is on the sidelines pretending Obama is president

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) on Thursday blamed a looming government shutdown on President Trump and Republicans, arguing that Democrats have tried to provide input.

“We’re unwilling to allow for the Republicans to just sit alone, draft legislation that governs the entire country without any Democrats in the room at all. We don’t want to shut down the government, the Republicans are shutting down the government,” Markey said on CNN. 

Markey knocked Trump, saying he has not taken an active leadership role in avoiding a shutdown.

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“The president is sitting on the sidelines pretending that Barack Obama is president somehow, and criticizing the process by which we create legislation in Congress to pass a budget that funds our country,” Markey said.

Markey suggested leadership from both parties and Trump should gather in a room to hammer out an agreement by the end of the weekend.

He appealed to Trump to “come back and be the leader,” knocking him for a visit earlier in the day to Pennsylvania in support of a Republican congressional candidate.

Trump has blamed Democrats for wanting to shut down the government over immigration issues.

Congress must pass a budget before the end of the day Friday to keep the government open. 

The House passed a stopgap measure Thursday night, but Democrats have indicated they have enough votes in the Senate to block the bill from passing. A few Republican senators have also said they oppose a temporary funding bill.

Republicans and Democrats have argued that the other side will be to blame should lawmakers fail to reach a deal before the Friday night deadline.