U.S. President Donald Trump has said that the government shutdown was the main reason behind the Republican Party’s defeat in the New York mayoral elections.
Speaking at a breakfast meeting with Republican senators at the White House, President Trump remarked that the country was facing one of the longest shutdowns in history, which he believed played a major role in the electoral loss.
He further stated that the shutdown had adversely affected airlines and the stock market.
Blaming the Democrats for the ongoing shutdown, President Trump expressed regret that they were not being held accountable to the extent they should be.
During the meeting, Trump reiterated his call to abolish the filibuster — a procedural delay tactic used in the Senate — claiming that doing so would help end the shutdown.
“The time has come for Republicans to do what they must — end the filibuster,” he told the senators. “It’s the only way forward. If you don’t end it, you’ll be in trouble. We won’t be able to pass any legislation.”
However, most Republican senators strongly oppose the move, fearing that if Democrats return to power, they would use the absence of the filibuster to easily pass their own legislative agenda.
