President Donald Trump is "unserious" about ending the government shutdown, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Friday.
"It's further confirmation that Republicans are the ones who were clearly determined to shut the government down," Jeffries said during an appearance on MSNBC.
"Everything that President Trump has done subsequent to Monday has been unhinged and unserious."
"In fact, Donald Trump is in the presidential witness protection program — no one can find him when it comes to the government shutdown issue because he knows he's responsible for having caused it," Jeffries added.
"And the behavior, the erratic behavior that we've seen is further confirmation of that unfortunate fact."
Hopes for a quick end to the shutdown faded Friday as Republicans and Democrats dug in for a prolonged fight. Trump, meanwhile, readied plans to unleash layoffs and cuts across the federal government.
Although Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress, the Senate's filibuster rules make it necessary for the government funding legislation to gain support from at least 60 of the 100 senators. That's given Democrats a rare opportunity to use their 47 Senate seats to hold out in exchange for policy concessions.
The party has chosen to rally on the issue of healthcare, believing it could be key to their path back to power in Washington.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.