'Running scared': 'Unforced errors' as 'visible cracks' emerge in GOP shutdown strategy

Republicans are scrambling for a cogent message pointing the blame at Democrats ahead of looming government shutdown, Politico reports.

While President Donald Trump sees a shutdown as a welcome distraction from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, Senate Republicans are pushing a different narrative.

The message from that group, led by Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), is that "the GOP wants to keep agencies open for a few more weeks while negotiations continue while Democrats are asking for unreasonable concessions," Politico says.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) instead wants to go with the spin that the "Democratic wish list would undo Republican-passed provisions barring undocumented immigrants from accessing public services," explains Politico.

Trump's message, Politico reports, has even "puzzled some Republicans," and leans heavily on culture wars. The president on Tuesday abruptly canceled a White House meeting with Democrats, insisting the party is seeking to "'force taxpayers to fund Ttransgender surgery for minors' as part of the negotiations."

These conflicting messages within the GOP are "raising internal concerns," Politio says, as Democrats are largely united behind their plan to focus on health care.

“There have been some unforced errors, clearly,” an anonymous senior House GOP told Politico.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) called Trump “unhinged," adding that the GOP has “no path forward” without Democratic cooperation.

“They’re running scared,” Jeffries said. “They have no defensible position, and that’s why, unfortunately, they’re marching us to a government shutdown.”