Sen. Richard Durbin, Illinois Democrat, said Sunday that he doesn’t see a quick end to the partial government shutdown and that President Trump “doesn’t care” about the consequences.
“I can’t say that we’re close because the president’s made it clear he doesn’t care,” Mr. Durbin, the No. 2-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “He’s prepared to see a shutdown for months and he even said years, and re-affirmed that before the cameras.”
“It was stunning to hear a president of the United States say that about his own government — a government we elected him to lead,” Mr. Durbin said. “But that is his position.”
Mr. Durbin called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to take up House-passed legislation to provide full-year funding for eight of the nine agencies facing a funding lapse and extend homeland security funding through Feb. 8 as lawmakers negotiate border security money
“He’s said he’s going to stand on the sidelines and wait for instructions from the president,” Mr. Durbin said of Mr. McConnell. “He is part of a branch of government and a leader in the Senate — he should be a participant in this conversation from the start.”
Mr. McConnell has said he doesn’t plan to take up bills that Mr. Trump doesn’t support.
Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican, also said Sunday on NBC that she’d like to see the Senate take up the House-passed bills, but acknowledged that Congress can pass any number of bills that won’t become law if Mr. Trump won’t sign them.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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