'Trump less powerful than ever' after shutting down government: conservative columnist

After a 35-day government shutdown that left 800,000 federal workers without pay, President Donald Trump and the Democratic leadership agreed to a tentative deal to reopen government. But President Trump warned that he would not hesitate to resort to a government shutdown again in the future.

As conservative Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin points out, Republican Senators—especially ones with close primaries in 2020—don't appear enthusiastic about another government shutdown.

"Judging from the reaction of Senate Republicans on the Sunday news shows, President Trump’s threat to instigate another shutdown if he does not get the wall is entirely empty — and his own Republican allies in the Senate know it," Rubin writes.

Chief among them is Susan Collins (R-ME). Collins appeared on Face the Nation Sunday and unequivocally stated her opposition to a shutdown. "Shutdowns are never good policy, ever. They are never to be used as a means to achieve any kind of goal no matter how important that goal may seem to be," Collins said.

She wasn't the only one. "“Well, hopefully it teaches everyone that shutdowns are not good leverage in any negotiation,” Marco Rubio (R-FL) told Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press."

"I don’t think it’s a good idea. I think it’ll be a terrible idea. I hope he doesn’t do it. . . . . It’s just not a good precedent to set in terms of action. It doesn’t mean that I don’t want border security. I do. I just think that’s the wrong way to achieve it.”

Based on their statements, Rubin comes to the conclusion that Trump is more impotent than ever. "In short, Trump has even less leverage now than he did when he was forced to reopen the government. He can huff and puff, but not even Republicans in Congress think they can get away with demanding “a wall or else!” There is no “else,” and everyone but Trump seems to have gotten the message."