President Donald Trump said that multiple federal programs championed by Democrats and ended by his administration during the ongoing government shutdown won't be returning when the federal bureaucracy reopens.
"They made a mistake," Trump said, according to Florida's Voice. "I think they made a big mistake.
"We're ending some programs that we don't want," he continued. "They happen to be Democrat-sponsored programs, but we're ending some programs that we never wanted – and we're probably not going to allow them to come back!
"This is really a [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer [D-N.Y.] shutdown because he's become sort of irrelevant and he wants to make himself relevant again!" Trump added.
The president reportedly made his remarks aboard Air Force One during his flight to the Middle East, where he is set to celebrate the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas and urge regional allies to seize the opportunity to build lasting peace and stability.
After departing Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Trump was welcomed in Israel on Monday, where he addressed the Israeli parliament before flying on to Egypt for a summit on creating the conditions needed for lasting peace in the Gaza Strip.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said Sunday that Republican guarantees of a future vote on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies would not persuade Democrats to support the GOP's plan to end the government shutdown, which began at 12:01 a.m. Oct. 1.
"We need a real negotiation, and we need a fix," Kelly said on NBC News' "Meet the Press."
"We need this corrected for the American people," he added, saying that Democrats would not settle for "some vote without an assured outcome."
"Now, here's the thing: The president has indicated that he wants to do something about this. And he wants the government open," Kelly said. "Well, we want this fixed, and we want the government open. So why is there a problem here?"
While Trump has called on Congress to pass a short-term funding bill that would end the impasse on Capitol Hill, he has not specifically addressed the subsidy issue.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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