Trump White House Takes a Post-‘Schumer Shutdown’ Victory Lap

White House officials exulted Monday, just minutes after the Senate voted to end the legislative impasse that caused the three-day federal government shutdown. This was after Democrats voted against a spending bill that lacked amnesty for hundreds of thousands illegal immigrants.

For President Donald Trump and staff, the shutdown’s end was sweet, as it showed that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) had no exit strategy at all after federal offices closed.

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Democrats had all weekend to ponder their future in the wake of the shutdown — and it was a quick ponder.

Senate Democrats agreed to a vote on Sunday night, scheduled for noon Monday. The Senate Democrats, who have 47 seats in the 100-seat chamber (along with two independents who caucus with them), seemed eager to end the three-day-old fight. And mostly, they were. The vote to approve the temporary funding bill was 81-18.

Sixteen Democrats and two Republicans (Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah) voted to keep the shutdown in place. The bill then went to the House — which approved it quickly and sent it to Trump to sign.

Spinning blame for the shutdown began even before the government closed down at midnight Friday. After Monday’s votes to reopen the government, the spinning got even hotter.

Schumer, for example, told journalists Trump deserved zero credit for ending the crisis because he stayed out of the weekend negotiations. But Trump spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders countered, saying whatever Trump did or did not do over the weekend — it worked.

“What the president did clearly worked,” Sanders said at the Monday White House press briefing. “The vote just came in 81-18. I would say that those numbers are much more in the president’s favor than in Sen. Schumer’s favor. I’m not sure what changed for him and what he gained …  I’m not sure what other positive things came out of this weekend for Democrats.”

Politically, it seems understandable why Schumer beat a hasty retreat. Not only was the Democrats’ Senate minority leader getting blamed for causing the “Schumer shutdown,” but political analysts noted there was no compromise immigration bill for the Democrats to support.

To vote for the bill, Republicans already had added sweeteners, including most prominently a six-year extension in funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). But it does not extend green cards to adult illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The GOP promised to negotiate on the immigration issue several weeks from now.

The fallout from the Washington controversy was a rare treat for Trump and congressional Republicans, given that the GOP has been on the receiving end of so much criticism and worse from the so-called resistance.

“As I’ve always said, once the government is funded, my administration will work toward solving the problem of very unfair illegal immigration,” said Trump.

Trump released a statement saying the Democrats “came to their senses.” “As I’ve always said, once the government is funded, my administration will work toward solving the problem of very unfair illegal immigration. We will make a long-term deal on immigration if, and only if, it’s good for our country.”

The Republican National Committee (RNC) also mocked Schumer, saying he wrote a book via the shutdown that should be titled “The Art of the Fail.” (The title is a play on Trump’s 1987 book, “The Art of the Deal.”)

On Twitter, “Democrats caved” quickly began trending. And liberals and angry Democrats were largely mocking the Democratic leadership for “caving.”

Related: Schumer Caves on Shutdown as Far-Left Base Fumes

“Democrats have learned nothing from these past few years,” tweeted Shaun King, a writer for The Intercept and one of the founders of Black Lives Matter. “Republicans literally stonewalled for nearly A YEAR to block Obama from nominating a Supreme Court nominee. Democrats caved in 72 hours with 800,000 dreamers at risk. Democrats lack a backbone. Just shameful.”

Most concerning for the Democrats could be so many activist organizations reacting with anger. The Democrats will need those groups later this year if they are to take back the House and Senate.

“Today’s cave by Senate Democrats — led by weak-kneed, right-of-center Democrats — is why people don’t believe the Democratic Party stands for anything,” said Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “These weak Democrats hurt the party brand for everyone and make it harder to elect Democrats everywhere in 2018.”

PoliZette White House writer Jim Stinson can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.