Rep. Dean Phillips today confirmed that he will join fellow members of the Problem Solvers Caucus at a meeting with President Trump at The White House today to inspire an end to the shutdown, now in its 26th day.

Rep. Phillips joined the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus during his first full week of service in Congress after frequently promising to do so on the campaign trail. The Caucus is made up of even numbers of Republicans and Democrats, each of whom are committed to collaboration and civility in Congress.

The Democratic members of the Problem Solvers Caucus offered the following joint statement in advance of today’s White House meeting:

"Over the last weeks, we have been listening to our constituents and speaking with our fellow Members of Congress — in both parties and in both chambers. There is strong agreement across the aisle and around the country: We must reopen the government.  Our security, safety, and economy have been compromised, and millions of families are suffering.

"There is also strong agreement that if we reopen the government, the possibility exists to work together and find common ground to tackle some of our country’s toughest problems and fix them. But that conversation can only begin in earnest once the government is reopened. We accepted the White House’s invitation to meet today to convey that message.

Rep. Phillips echoed the need for an immediate bipartisan agreement to end the shutdown in a statement of his own:

“I am hearing from parents, business owners and hardworking federal employees who have been burdened by financial insecurity thanks to a President and lawmakers who are more interested in playing partisan politics than ending the longest government shutdown in American history. We must do better.

I made a promise to the people of Minnesota’s Third District that I would work to end dysfunction in Washington. Congress has offered meaningful solutions and it’s time for the President to end this shutdown so that we can get to the work of securing our borders and ports and passing comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform. That is the message I will carry to The White House today.”
 

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