We discuss the impact of the government shutdown, President Trump's call to eliminate the filibuster, and evaluate his trip to Asia.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
And joining us now is NPR senior political commentator Ron Elving. Ron, thanks for being with us.
RON ELVING, BYLINE: Good to be with you, Scott.
SIMON: What do you think the Trump administration's political calculations are when it comes to SNAP benefits?
ELVING: Nobody wants to take responsibility when families are forced to go without food. But here we see the Trump administration scrambling to find $5 billion to pay the military while refusing to take a similar amount from a reserve fund specifically earmarked for food aid. They call it a rainy day fund in case of a hurricane or earthquake, but two federal judges have now said it definitely looks like an emergency to them. So now Trump says maybe his lawyers can find a way to get the money back after all. And to think, this is happening in the same news cycle as the release of photos of new gold fixtures in the White House bathrooms and news of the lavish Great Gatsby-themed party thrown by the President last night at Mar-a-Lago. Not very good optics.
SIMON: Senate Majority Leader John Thune has once again rejected the president's call to eliminate the filibuster. The president sees it as a way to end the government shutdown on his terms, but his Republican allies in the Senate are resisting his call. Why is this?
ELVING: The filibuster, the 60-vote requirement in the Senate, gives power to the minority party no matter which party it is. And Republicans have long memories. They know that someday they themselves may find themselves in the minority again, perhaps quite soon. And they can easily envision Democrats with a Senate majority taking major steps, such as expanding the Supreme Court or granting statehood to the District of Columbia—something the filibuster has prevented in the past. Presidents, of course, have long been frustrated by the filibuster, and Trump is no exception. This is a barrier to his program in the present, and it matters more to him than what might happen to the Senate in some future situation a few years from now.
SIMON: Sure, Ron, President Trump returned from his tour of Asia this week. Can you call the trip a success?
ELVING: It certainly looked like a success – not just the public appearances, but a lot of trade deals and other negotiations that seemed to be successfully completed. We have also seen that, thanks to Trump and trade, much of what seems set in stone can change. That's part of what he likes about tariffs. He can impose them and then change them at will. He has done this many times and the current Congress has not yet decided to assert its role and rein him in. Thus, tariffs become a tool of his personal manipulation, which plays to his strengths as a negotiator and showman.
However, it appears that this trip will bring real benefits in terms of securing strategic materials as well as de-escalating talk of a trade war with China. This is certainly good news for businesses and the world. Trump also worked hard on this trip to burnish his reputation as a peacemaker, witnessing the signing of an agreement between Thailand and Cambodia on border disputes and so on. However, he was clearly unhappy that the entire trip was put on the backburner due to the government shutdown at home.
SIMON: Of course, open enrollment in the Affordable Care Act marketplace begins today. That's going to be on a lot of people's minds this weekend, isn't it?
SIMON: NPR's Ron Elving. It's always a pleasure to talk to you, especially during a week like this with so much going on. Thank you very much.
ELVING: Thank you, Scott.
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