GOP Congressman Blasts Trump For 'Toddler Logic' On Shutdown
Just ahead of the second day of Washington’s government shutdown, a GOP congressman reprimanded President Donald Trump for what he called childlike behavior.
In an interview Saturday on CNN flagged by RawStory, Rep. Ryan Costello (R-Pa.), whose term expires next month, aired his aggravation not only with the commander in chief on whom he pinned the blame, but also with his own party.
“In the land of common sense ― we’re not in it right now, and the shutdown is because the president wanted a shutdown,” Costello said. “I don’t know why he wanted a shutdown. If it’s over the border wall, then this past summer, he should have pushed the compromised immigration bill that if he’d pushed, we would have been able to send it over to the Senate.”
The proposal to which Costello referred was rejected by the House last June, but would have forked over a whopping $25 billion for the president’s border wall, five times his current asking price. The demands of Trump and other Republicans for border wall money have now led to a stark divide in Congress over the passage of a spending bill, triggering the shutdown.
On Friday, Costello tweeted that it was “toddler logic” to think the impasse would cause those on the left to change their minds.
If and when the gvt shuts down, there’s no pressure on Dems. Then Dems control the House on Jan 3. Then Dems have more leverage. The notion that a shutdown creates more pressure on Dems is toddler logic. https://t.co/4veTNOF9Xw
— Ryan Costello (@RyanCostello) December 21, 2018
Costello predicted the turmoil wouldn’t end until he was out of office, suggesting Democrats would hold out until they assume control of the House in January.
Still, the congressman maintained frustration with his side of the aisle.
″This honestly is really, really simple stuff. Really simple,” he said. “But for some reason, there’s a couple people out there that I think are just missing the boat, and one of them is the president.”
While Costello had no reservations calling out the GOP, certain of his colleagues continue to stand by the president, including Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who claims the wall is essential to national security.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
