WASHINGTON (AP) — As they gather in Washington, many of the nation’s Republican governors are blaming President Barack Obama for a budget standoff that threatens a potential Department of Homeland Security shutdown.
They’ll be able to make their case in person when they convene at the White House on Monday morning.
The meeting comes days before the DHS’s $40 billion budget is set to run out, on Feb. 27, over a dispute over Obama’s executive action on immigration.
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson warned on Sunday that the possible shutdown threatens to hamstring U.S. response to terrorist threats and warnings, such as the one late Saturday that mentioned the Mall of America in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington.
While some have called for compromise, a handful of high-profile Republican governors have urged GOP congressional leaders to stand firm, arguing that stopping what they see as Obama’s unconstitutional power grab may be as important as resolving the funding dispute.
The meeting — and a planned afternoon press conference at the White House Monday afternoon — caps the annual winter gathering of the National Governors Association, where talk was dominated by the budget standoff as well as a looming Supreme Court case that could strike down health insurance subsidies for millions of people across more than 30 states.
But Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat who chairs the National Governors Association, said that governors would likely avoid divisive issues at their meeting with Obama. He suggested likely topics would be trade deals, workforce development, education and infrastructure.
“When we go to the president our goal is to try to be more constructive,” he said.
During a dinner and reception at the White House Sunday evening, Obama also sounded an optimistic note, saying he hoped he could find common ground with the group.
“Within this room, we’re not going to agree on everything, but I am committed to working with each and every one of you over the next two years to keep making progress. And we’ll talk more about that tomorrow,” he said.
“Our economy keeps improving. And I hope that we can seize on that momentum to keep improving the circumstances for every one of our citizens, keep building a country where every citizen can look around and see cause for optimism about the future, not only for themselves but also for their children and their grandchildren,” he told the governors.
Republicans made major gains during the midterm elections and now control 31 of the country’s governors’ mansions.
___
Associated Press writer Steve Peoples contributed to this report.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.