GOP senators read Pence riot act before shutdown votes

Frustrated GOP senators read Vice President Pence the riot act at a closed-door meeting Thursday, telling him the partial government shutdown needs to end soon, according to lawmakers in the room.

Republican senators, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellTrump's 'four corners' offense an effective strategy for 2020 House Dems reintroduce bill to protect elections from cyberattacks The Hill's 12:30 Report: Trump takes gamble on new China tariffs MORE (Ky.), warned the vice president that prolonging the shutdown is not a smart political strategy, in hopes of sending a clear message to President TrumpDonald John TrumpBooker backpedals after comparing Warren's Facebook proposal to Trump Booker: 'Thoughts and prayers' after gun violence are 'bullshit' Mike Pence tells Liberty University graduates to prepare to be 'shunned,' 'ridiculed' for being a Christian MORE that he needs to resolve the crisis as soon as possible.

Lawmakers vented their irritation to Pence shortly before six GOP senators defected to vote for a Democratic-backed bill that would open the government without funding Trump’s proposed border wall.

One GOP senator said lawmakers told Pence “the shutdown needs to come to an end, this is not a strategy that works [and] we never should have had a shutdown in the first place.”

Pence in turn told them that “the president is interested in striking a deal,” according to the source.

The pushback against Pence came from outspoken critics of the shutdown like Sen. Lisa MurkowskiLisa Ann MurkowskiMoore's bid for Federal Reserve looks increasingly shaky Patricia Arquette pushes for Equal Rights Amendment at hearing Senate GOP women pose obstacle for Moore as Fed pick MORE (Alaska), as well as from lawmakers who usually keep a lower profile — Sens. John BoozmanJohn Nichols BoozmanTrump's pursuit of infrastructure deal hits GOP roadblock Democrats, making a difference is better than making a point GOP senators read Pence riot act before shutdown votes MORE (Ark.), Johnny IsaksonJohn (Johnny) Hardy IsaksonTammy Duckworth visits Iraq for first time since being shot down in 2004 Congress punts on disaster aid amid standoff with Trump, Dems Overnight Defense: Transgender troops rally as ban nears | Trump may call more troops to border | National Guard expects 3M training shortfall from border deployment | Pentagon to find housing for 5,000 migrant children MORE (Ga.) and Jerry MoranGerald (Jerry) MoranFacebook COO Sheryl Sandberg meets with senators on privacy FBI director says he wouldn't use 'spying' to describe investigations Live coverage: Barr faces Senate panel as he prepares release of Mueller report MORE (Kan.).

One of the most remarkable moments during the Senate luncheon came when McConnell told Pence that shuttering the government to try to secure funding for a border wall was not a smart approach.

“McConnell talked about how we need to bring this process to a close; we should never have had a shutdown; they don’t work; I’ve said this numerous times; I don’t know how many times I’ve told you there’s no education in the second kick of a mule,” said a GOP source familiar with the meeting.

A spokesman for McConnell declined to comment on specific conversations during the private lunch but noted that the Kentucky Republican made his thoughts about a potential government shutdown clear in mid-December.

“I think that a government shutdown is not a good option. That’s my view. The American people don’t like it,” the GOP leader told reporters on Dec. 18, four days before funding lapsed. “You remember my favorite country saying, ‘There’s no education in the second kick of a mule.’ We’ve been down this path before.” 

Sen. Bill CassidyWilliam (Bill) Morgan CassidyHealth industry to clash over surprise medical bills Public confidence in GOP on healthcare down by 6 points since Trump joined anti-ObamaCare lawsuit Trump urges Congress to take action on surprise medical bills MORE (R-La.) said after Thursday’s meeting but before the Senate votes that colleagues were “airing their concerns.”

Sen. John CornynJohn CornynTrump Jr. subpoena spotlights GOP split over Russia probes The Hill's Morning Report — Trump escalates trade war with China as talks continue Trump Jr. subpoena sparks internal GOP battle MORE (R-Texas) told reporters after the Senate votes that Pence got an “earful” from senators.

“We’re all hearing from our constituents who are working for no pay,” Cornyn said. “And there’s a parade of horribles of how people who are having to cope with not getting paid, and it’s not good.”

“There was a lot of frustration expressed about the situation we find ourselves in,” he added.

Pence urged Republican lawmakers at the lunch to stay unified, pressing them not to vote for the proposal from Senate Democratic Leader Charles SchumerCharles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerCall Trump's tax cut what it was: Keynesian Trump will 'hang tough' on China, political fallout be damned Do Democrats really want to see the unredacted special counsel report? MORE (N.Y.) to fund the government until Feb. 8 without additional funding for a border wall, according to the GOP source familiar with the meeting.

To underscore the stern message they sent to Pence, six Republicans — Murkowski, Isakson and Sens. Lamar AlexanderAndrew (Lamar) Lamar AlexanderOvernight Health Care: Trump urges Congress to take action on surprise medical bills | New bipartisan drug pricing bill introduced | Trump gambles in push for drug import proposal Trump urges Congress to take action on surprise medical bills The Hill's Morning Report - Barr held in contempt after Trump invokes executive privilege, angering Dems MORE (Tenn.), Susan CollinsSusan Margaret CollinsThe Hill's Morning Report — Trump escalates trade war with China as talks continue Maxine Waters, Stacey Abrams among political stars in demand for graduation speeches Overnight Health Care: Trump wants HHS to help Florida with drug imports | Graham calls inaction on drug prices 'unacceptable' | Abortion battles heat up with Kavanaugh on Supreme Court MORE (Maine), Cory GardnerCory Scott Gardner1 dead, several others injured in school shooting in Denver suburb The gap in Sen. Gardner's environmental record GOP distances itself from Trump's ObamaCare attacks MORE (Colo.) and Mitt RomneyWillard (Mitt) Mitt RomneyOvernight Health Care: HHS issues rule requiring drug prices in TV ads | Grassley, Wyden working on plan to cap drug costs in Medicare | Warren to donate money from family behind opioid giant Dem senator calls on McConnell to endorse bipartisan bill to raise smoking age to 21 Young Turks' Uygur: Nancy Pelosi is not a progressive MORE (Utah) — voted for the Democratic proposal. But the 52-44 vote fell short of the 60 needed to advance the bill.

Murkowski said after the votes that she told Pence the shutdown has to end as quickly as possible.

“I reminded colleagues that I was feeling a very keen sense of urgency on this because Alaska has the highest number of federal workers that are impacted by the partial shutdown and we needed to get this open now,” said Murkowski, who is supporting a measure with Democratic Sens. Ben CardinBenjamin (Ben) Louis CardinBooker, Ayanna Pressley introduce bill taking aim at black maternal death rates Patricia Arquette pushes for Equal Rights Amendment at hearing Congress should join the campaign for constitutional equality MORE (Md.) and Chris Van HollenChristopher (Chris) Van HollenDem lawmakers urge FCC to scrutinize broadcast workforce diversity Senate fails to override Trump's Yemen veto Warren calls for Barr to resign MORE (Md.) that would reopen the government for three weeks without providing wall funding. 

Isakson’s spokeswoman, Amanda Maddox, said her boss "spoke to his colleagues at today’s lunch to share his reasoning for voting the way he planned.” 

“He didn’t know the vice president would be at today’s lunch when he decided on making the speech,” Maddox said. “He wasn’t trying to send any message but was merely speaking his conscience.”