Vice President Mike Pence defended the partial government shutdown on Wednesday but couldn’t guarantee that another can be avoided.
“I never think it’s a mistake to stand up for what you believe in, and I think what the American people admire most about this president is he says what he means and he means what he says in a very real sense,” Mr. Pence said on CBS “This Morning.”
The vice president defended President Trump for holding his ground during the shutdown and keeping his promises to voters.
“The American people saw this president as absolutely determined to keep his word to secure our border and end the crisis of illegal immigration,” Mr. Pence said.
Last month’s shutdown lasted for 35 days, the longest in U.S. history and left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without pay for weeks.
Congressional lawmakers have until Feb. 15 to reach a compromise on funding for border security or face another second partial government shutdown.
When asked during his interview if he could promise there would not be another shutdown, Mr. Pence couldn’t commit to that.
“Well, I think our hope is that there’s not, but I can’t make that guarantee,” he said. “The simple truth is Congress needs to do their job.”
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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