Sen. Ben Cardin said Monday that the main fight to reopen the government centers on the budget and spending caps more than immigration.
“The main issue is the budget, and the caps, and how much are we going to spend on defense and non-defense. That’s the main issue,” Mr. Cardin, Maryland Democrat, said on CNN.
He said that on the issue of immigration Republicans agreed to Dreamers protections — allowing those brought to the U.S. illegally as children to stay as long as they remain in good standing — but the parties struggled to come together on border security.
“What they want is something in exchange for that so the real hang up has been border security,” Mr. Cardin explained of the negotiations referring to Republicans.
He did say that he sees the two sides coming together on this issue as well, but cautioned that a deal to end the shutdown is still unlikely at this point. The Senate convenes Monday morning after working through the weekend to bring the shutdown to an end.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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