--- title: Graham: Shutdown Could End 'in a Couple of Weeks' description: Senator Lindsey Graham said a deal to end the partial U.S. government shutdown could be reached “in a couple of weeks." canonical: https://time.com/5507803/senator-lindsey-graham-government-shutdown/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-19T15:09:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:03:56.637Z article:section: Politics og:title: Senator Lindsey Graham Says the Government Shutdown Could End 'in a Couple of Weeks' og:description: Trump has promised a “major announcement” on the shutdown on Saturday og:url: https://time.com/5507803/senator-lindsey-graham-government-shutdown/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt864f6420334595dd/698943a3457a527dadd605ae/senator-lindsey-graham-government-shutdown-claims.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: senator-lindsey-graham-government-shutdown-claims og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Senator Lindsey Graham Says the Government Shutdown Could End 'in a Couple of Weeks' twitter:description: Trump has promised a “major announcement” on the shutdown on Saturday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt864f6420334595dd/698943a3457a527dadd605ae/senator-lindsey-graham-government-shutdown-claims.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 01:15 video:published: 2019-01-07 section: politics topics: government shutdown, blame shifting, border security, immigration policy, political tactics, Trump administration, Democrats, congressional leaders genre: news analysis, explainer tones: critical, analytical, pointed, informative emotions: skepticism (medium), irony (medium), concern (low) sentiment: negative audience: political news readers, voters following government policy, policy and politics enthusiasts, general news audiences people: Donald Trump organizations: Democrats, Congress content_suitability: politics [00:00-01:15] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Senator Lindsey Graham Says the Government Shutdown Could End 'in a Couple of Weeks' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=0ed36850-4403-4bf8-b7ac-244e8a10061c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Why Trump Is Dragging Out the Shutdown — Even Though It's Unpopular [Watch (HLS stream): Why Trump Is Dragging Out the Shutdown — Even Though It's Unpopular](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ftjJTqAc.m3u8) (1:15)  _Published 2019-01-07. The first rule of government shutdowns: blame the other side._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary The video examines the political dynamics of government shutdowns, noting that presidents and congressional leaders typically blame their opponents for them. It argues that President Donald Trump departed from this pattern by repeatedly saying he would be willing to shut down the government over immigration policy. It then describes how this stance complicates Trump's attempt to blame Democrats now that the government is partially shut down, given his earlier statements and videos. ## Key points - Since shutdowns became a political tactic in the 1970s, presidents and congressional leaders have tried to shift blame for a shutdown onto their opponents. (00:09) - The video states that Democrats are typically rooting for a government shutdown, but Trump upended that logic. (00:19) - In summer 2018, Trump began saying he would be willing to shut down the government over immigration policy. (00:25) - Trump is quoted saying he would have no problem doing a shutdown because it's time the country had proper border security. (00:33) - As the December shutdown loomed, Trump said he would be the one to shut it down and would not blame anyone else for it. (00:41) - Trump said he would take the mantle of shutting down, because the last time the government was shut down it did not work. (00:46) - Trump has tried to blame Democrats for the shutdown, saying they refuse to fund border security. (00:55) - Old videos, tweets and statements in which Trump said he wanted to shut down the government undermine his effort to blame Democrats. (01:02) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:19] The blame-the-other-side shutdown playbook. Explains the traditional pattern of both parties blaming opponents for government shutdowns since the 1970s. - [00:19 to 00:41] Trump's willingness to shut down government. Describes how Trump broke the usual pattern by openly embracing the idea of a shutdown over immigration. - [00:41 to 01:15] Trump's shutdown blame problem. Explains how Trump's earlier statements and videos complicate his effort to blame Democrats for the current shutdown. ## Key quotes - [00:33] Donald Trump: "So I would have no problem doing a shutdown. It's time we had proper border security." - [00:41] Donald Trump: "I will be the one to shut it down. I'm not gonna blame you for it." - [00:46] Donald Trump: "I will take the mantel of shutting down." - [00:55] Donald Trump: "We're in a shutdown because Democrats refuse to fund the border security." ## Questions this video answers - How did Trump depart from the usual pattern of shutdown blame? [00:19] - What did Trump say about shutting down the government over immigration in 2018? [00:25] - Why is it difficult for Trump to blame Democrats for the current partial shutdown? [00:51] - What evidence undermines Trump's attempt to blame Democrats? [01:02] ## Content suitability - politics [00:00-01:15]: Entire video concerns a partisan political dispute over a government shutdown and immigration policy. by [Cagan Koc / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Cagan Koc / Bloomberg Contributor Jan 19, 2019 3:09 PM UTC  US Senator Lindsey Graham holds a media conference at JW Marriott Hotel in Ankara, Turkey on January 19, 2019\. He claims that the government shutdown in the U.S. could end "in a couple of weeks". US Senator Lindsey Graham holds a media conference at JW Marriott Hotel in Ankara, Turkey on January 19, 2019\. He claims that the government shutdown in the U.S. could end "in a couple of weeks". Anadolu Agency—Getty Images by [Cagan Koc / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Cagan Koc / Bloomberg Contributor Jan 19, 2019 3:09 PM UTC (Bloomberg) — Senator Lindsey Graham said a deal to end the partial U.S. government shutdown now in a record 29th day could be reached “in a couple of weeks,” citing talks he’s had with congressional Democrats and Vice President Mike Pence. “We’re at a stalemate,” Graham, a South Carolina Republican and an ally of President Donald Trump, told Bloomberg in Ankara on Saturday. “The good news: I’ve been talking behind the scenes with Democrats, and the vice president. I believe there is a deal that can be reached fairly quickly. I think this can be done in a couple of weeks, not a couple of months.” Graham said he has been through several government shutdowns, which he said all happen to reach a policy goal. Trump has promised a “ major announcement” on the shutdown on Saturday that may offer incentives for congressional Democrats to return to talks. On Jan. 13 Graham said he’d like Trump to reopen the federal government on a temporary basis to see whether a deal could be reached to fund the president’s proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump told reporters a day later that he had rejected that idea. Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was in Turkey for meetings with officials including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (An earlier version corrected the length of the shutdown.) ## Transcript [00:00] The first rule of government shutdowns. Blame the [00:03] other side. The Democrats. The Democrats. Totally up [00:06] to the Democrats. Call it a Democrat shutdown. Call it [00:09] whatever you want. Since shutdowns became a political [00:12] tactic in the 1970's, presidents and congressional [00:15] leaders have attempted to shift the blame for a [00:17] shutdown onto their opponents. Now here's the bottom [00:19] line. Democrats are rooting for government shutdown. [00:22] But President Donald Trump upended that logic. In the [00:25] summer of 2018 he began saying that he would be [00:27] willing to shut down the government over immigration [00:29] policy. [ MUSIC ] So I would [00:33] have no problem doing a shutdown. It's time we had [00:38] proper border security. He went further as the [00:41] December shutdown loomed. I will be the one to shut it [00:44] down. I'm not gonna blame you for it. The last time you [00:46] shut it down it didn't work. I will take the mantel of [00:49] shutting down. That's created a problem for Trump [00:51] now that the government is partially shut down [00:52] however. Trump has tried to use the typical playbook [00:55] and blame Democrats. We're in a shutdown because [00:58] Democrats refuse to fund the border security. But [01:02] there are just too many old videos and tweets and him [01:04] saying he wanted to shut down the government for that [01:07] to work. 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