Trump Pushes Government Shutdown Strategy For House Republicans To Use To Their Advantage - 'Use The Power Of The Purse And Defend The Country!'

On Wednesday, leading Republican presidential contender and 45th President Donald J. Trump pushed for House Republicans to use a potential government shutdown to their political advantage.

"A very important deadline is approaching at the end of the month," Trump posted on Truth Social. "Republicans in Congress can and must defund all aspects of Crooked Joe Biden’s weaponized Government that refuses to close the Border, and treats half the Country as Enemies of the State. This is also the last chance to defund these political prosecutions against me and other Patriots. They failed on the debt limit, but they must not fail now. Use the power of the purse and defend the Country!"

As has previously been reported, several House Republicans are attempting to halt government funding until individual appropriation measures are passed for government funding. These Republicans are from all over the nation and fiercely agree with Trump's sentiments expressed on his Truth Social. 

Commenting on these remarks, Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake tweeted, "I agree with President Donald J. Trump. Thank you @RepGosar,@EliCraneAZ, @RepAndyBiggsAZ for working to rein in the out-of-control swamp spending and Defund the Deep State. Please continue to hold the line!"

In turn, Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) added, "I say in this time of rapidly growing federal spending, inflationary crunch, and economic problems caused by Biden’s policies, why would we want to continue on that same path instead of fighting to reduce spending and the growth in the debt? A CR won't help us here."

He continued, adding, "This appropriations debate could have and should have been resolved months ago. I called for a return to pre-COVID spending levels, which are lower than last year’s revenue, and would ensure we don’t add more to the national debt."

Republicans of all stripes are debating the merits of a government shutdown. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) had previously argued that government shutdowns help no one -- "nobody wins" as McCarthy has previously stated. But his plan to fund the government was put on ice by Republicans on Friday, who were skeptical of the current way of doing business in Washington. It appears that Donald J. Trump has put his support behind these Republicans, who are taking major action against the status quo. More surprisingly, this comes after Trump threw his support for Speaker McCarthy during the House vote earlier this year. 

As such, Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who is one of the fiercest proponents of holding the line, tweeted, "Trump Opposes the Continuing Resolution. Hold the line."