Bernie Sanders rips Trump over shutdown: ‘How pathetic’

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) blasted President Trump for the prolonged government shutdown after Trump announced an agreement Friday to reopen the government without funding for Trump’s signature campaign promise.

“We are back to exactly where we started,” Sanders posted to Twitter on Friday. “Thank you, Mr. President, for shutting down the government and holding 800,000 federal employees hostage.” 

How pathetic. On Dec. 19, the Senate unanimously passed essentially the same legislation that we will vote on today. We are back to exactly where we started. Thank you, Mr. President, for shutting down the government and holding 800,000 federal employees hostage. All for nothing!

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) January 25, 2019

{mosads}He and his Senate colleagues voted on legislation to fund the government in December before the shutdown began. Trump agreed Friday to a three-week deal that gives temporary funding to reopen the government without money for a border wall.

Sanders has been a vocal and frequent critic of Trump, particularly lambasting him for the prolonged partial government shutdown.

In recent weeks, Sanders has spoken out against Trump on several instances, calling him a “racist” in a speech on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and bashing his Oval Office address earlier this month, saying Trump was trying to “create fear and hatred” in the country.

Sanders has made clear he supports comprehensive immigration reform and has been adamant that a wall at the border of U.S. and Mexico is not the solution.

“In terms of immigration in this country, what we need to do is not to waste billions of dollars on a wall, but to finally the address the need for comprehensive immigration reform, including improved border security,” he said in a video speech in response to Trump’s Oval Office address.

Sanders is expected to run again for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in 2020, though he has not confirmed his plans yet.