Cameras were off as Trump met members of Problem Solvers Caucus.
WASHINGTON – Rep. Dean Phillips joined fellow members of Congress on Wednesday in urging President Donald Trump to reopen the entire federal government, using a private meeting to push for an end to the nearly monthlong shutdown.
Phillips, a newly elected Minnesota Democrat, said he was one of 12 House members — six Democrats and six Republicans — summoned to the lunch hour meeting in the White House Situation Room as the shutdown hit its 26th day. All are members of the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group of moderates that Phillips joined upon taking office.
“The president explained his position and afforded every one of us the chance to explain ours,” Phillips said. “We went there to express the fact that hundreds of thousands of federal employees are suffering, working without pay, that millions more contractors and people who rely on government services are increasingly being impacted.”
View the complete January 16 article by Patrick Condon on The Star Tribune website here.