Trump urges Republicans to go ‘nuclear’ over government shutdown

US President Donald Trump has asked his fellow Republicans in Congress to resort to the so-called nuclear option in order to end the ongoing government shutdown.

In yet another controversial tweet on Sunday, Trump accused Democrats of sacrificing military and border security in exchange for concessions on immigration laws and commended Republicans for hitting back.

"Great to see how hard Republicans are fighting for our Military and Safety at the Border. The Dems just want illegal immigrants to pour into our nation unchecked," Trump wrote. “

"If stalemate continues, Republicans should go to 51% (Nuclear Option) and vote on real, long term budget, no C.R.’s!" he added, referring to a stopgap spending measure commonly referred to as a continuing resolution.

The nuclear option, which requires the Senate majority leader to change the parliamentary rules, means Republicans would no longer need 60 votes to pass legislation and can do so with a simple majority.

Despite having a 51-49 majority in the Senate, Republicans have had a hard time delivering on Trump’s campaign promises due to resistance from Democrats and a deep-running division within the party over whether they should distance themselves from the businessman-turned-president.

The GOP’s failure to line up behind Trump and his budget bill, which asks for a dramatic increase in military funding and border security, coupled with strong demands from Democrats for protecting immigrants, led to the government’s shutdown on Friday.

Both parties are fighting hard to get an edge in the blame game, which Republicans have called the “Schumer Shutdown,” in reference to Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, a Democrat representing the state of New York.

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Senator Charles Schumer says it is "next to impossible" to negotiate a budget with the White House.

Republicans believe they have the strong hand because Senate Democrats have also rejected a CR passed by the House of Representative that would have prevented the shutdown.

Democrats, on the other hand, are blaming Trump’s lack of leadership and his insistence on funding a wall on the border with Mexico which they deem not feasible and say would only please Trump’s base.

 Schumer has made it clear that Democrats are not willing to negotiate a deal with a president who frequently changes his position and is puts his right-wing supporters above his own priorities.

Trump fueled the blame game on Saturday by accusing Democrats of “holding out Military hostage over their desire to have unchecked illegal immigration."

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