Schumer aide: Mulvaney ‘not telling the truth’ about Trump proposal

A top aide to Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Saturday accused White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney of “not telling the truth” about a proposed funding deal.

Mulvaney claimed during a press briefing at the White House that Schumer offered $1.6 billion for President Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

That figure, which is far below the $18 billion that Trump has requested from Congress, reportedly came up when Schumer met with Trump on Friday to secure a funding deal.

Mulvaney accused Schumer of “mischaracterizing” the meeting with Trump, telling reporters that he got his information from “the chief,” referring to White House chief of staff John Kelly, who attended the meeting.

“Chuck Schumer actually had the gall to look at the president and say ‘I’m giving you everything you asked for the wall,’ and then when pressed, admitted that he wasn’t doing it. That’s the type of negotiation that Mr. Schumer has been engaged in with the president,” Mulvaney said.

In a tweet, Schumer’s communications director Matt House rebutted Mulvaney’s statement, writing, “Director Mulvaney was not in the lunch, and is not telling the truth. Period, full stop.”

Director Mulvaney was not in the lunch, and is not telling the truth.

Period, full stop. https://t.co/n7L00LNErE

— Matt House (@mattwhouse) January 20, 2018

Republicans and Democrats have traded blame for the government shutdown, which started Friday night at midnight after Congress failed to pass a funding bill.

{mosads}

Schumer told reporters Saturday that it was Trump who had come up with the amount of funding for the wall, which Schumer had agreed upon, and denied balking at the amount the president requested.

“I will tell you, it was the president who suggested the number, and I said ‘let’s put it on the table,'” Schumer told reporters.

He declined to answer how much he had agreed upon.

The White House blasted Senate Democrats as “obstructionist losers” Friday night as the shutdown began, blaming them for tying the issue of immigration to the funding process.

“Tonight, they put politics above our national security, military families, vulnerable children, and our country’s ability to serve all Americans,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

“This is the behavior of obstructionist losers, not legislators.”

Schumer, meanwhile, accused the president on Saturday of being unable to negotiate terms with Democrats and shifting his own positions.

“It’s next to impossible to strike a deal with the president because he can’t stick to terms,” Schumer said, adding Trump “won’t take ‘yes’ for an answer.”