Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said the government shutdown would end when President Donald Trump “realizes he’s lost the Senate Republicans.”
On the president declaring a national emergency, Durbin said, “Presidents have been very careful in using that. When George W. Bush faced 9/11 he asked us for national emergency powers, we gave it to him on a bipartisan basis, united as a country to fight off terrorism. But if this president is going to turn to national emergencies every time he disagrees with Congress, I’m against it. Let’s make sure the branches of government are bound by the same Constitution.”
Host George Stephanopoulos asked, “How does this end?”
Durbin said, “I think it ends when the Senate Republicans say ‘We’ve had enough. We’re not going to stand here and be blamed for this. We believe the government should be opened. There should be timely negotiations on border security after the government is open.’ Once the president realizes he’s lost the Senate Republicans, we can roll up our sleeves, open the government and get down to business.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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