Rep.-elect Dan Crenshaw said Democrats appear willing to compromise national security as long as it denies President Trump a fulfilled campaign promise.
The Navy SEAL veteran told “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday that his experiences while facing hostile enemies proved the efficacy of walls — and by extension the political theater now on display during the government shutdown.
“I spent a whole career infiltrating places,” the Texas Republican said. “And you know what? When we come up upon a wall, it matters. We have to plan around it. It’s a mitigating factor if you’re trying to enter or cross from point A to point B.”
Democrats have refused to budge on a spending bill with $5.7 billion for border security for the past 12 days.
“The President is using the government shutdown to try to force an expensive and ineffective wall upon the American people, but Democrats have offered two bills which separate the arguments over the wall from the government shutdown,” Democratic leadership said Monday in a joint statement. “The first bill would reopen all government agencies except for the Department of Homeland Security — not taking a position on the President’s wall. It would simply continue the funding levels and language that both parties have already supported. The second bill would extend the Department of Homeland Security’s funding through February 8th, which Republicans already supported in recent weeks.”
Mr. Crenshaw, however, said he sees motivations other than fiscal discipline and efficient use of taxpayers’ money on the part of Democrats.
“I think what they really want to do is score points against the president,” he said. “He made a campaign promise, and they want to score points against him by destroying that campaign promise, but it’s at the expense of our security.”
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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