In a fiery rebuke that underscores growing Republican frustration with Democrat obstruction, President Donald Trump told Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to "Go to Hell" following the collapse of nominee deal negotiations. The blowup came after Schumer reportedly attempted to tie critical nominee votes to partisan funding demands, derailing efforts to confirm dozens of Trump’s appointees.
On Saturday, efforts to reach a deal on confirming President Trump’s nominees collapsed, with both Senate Republicans and Democrats blaming each other for the breakdown. Rather than advancing up to 60 nominees—many of whom had already cleared committee with bipartisan backing—lawmakers rushed through votes on just seven before adjourning for the August recess. In the end, reports indicate it was Trump himself who pulled the plug on the agreement.
"This demand is egregious and unprecedented, and would be embarrassing to the Republican Party if it were accepted. It is political extortion, by any other name," Trump said. "Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!"
"Do not accept the offer," the president added. "Go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country. Have a great RECESS and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!"
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) also criticized Schumer for overreaching, saying he crossed the line by escalating his list of demands and raising the overall cost.
"We've had three different deals since last night," he said. "And every time it's been, every time it's ‘I want more,’" Mullin said. "You get to a realization that there was, it was never about making a deal. They want to go out and say the President's being unrealistic, and because he can't answer to his base to make a deal like we have in every other president in history."
Schumer, meanwhile, framed Trump’s decision as a win for Senate Democrats. He claimed it was Trump who walked away from the talks, while he and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) had been trying to reach a bipartisan agreement—so long as the White House and Senate Republicans agreed to their conditions.
"He took his ball, he went home, leaving Democrats and Republicans alike wondering what the hell happened," Schumer said. "Trump's all-caps Tweet said it all. In a fit of rage, Trump threw in the towel, sent Republicans home, and was unable to do the basic work of negotiating."
This followed what both sides thought was a near-breakthrough to fulfill Trump’s push to get his nominees confirmed before the Senate adjourned. According to Thune, he and Schumer exchanged “lots of offers” during the talks. Democrats were demanding the White House release billions in frozen funding for the National Institutes of Health and foreign aid, along with a promise to avoid any future clawback proposals. In return, they were prepared to approve several of Trump’s less controversial nominees.