Amid the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Sen. Mitt Romney is blaming Democrats for the budget impasse over funding for President Donald Trump’s border wall.
In a taped interview aired Sunday night on MSNBC, Romney said Democrats were at fault for the shutdown. Romney was asked if he would support a government funding bill that did not include the $5.7 billion President Trump is demanding for his proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I think our Democrat friends have painted themselves into a corner,” said Romney. “They have voted for border walls in the past. The president is willing to work with them as long as they recognize, hey, we need border security. I think that’s something that most Americans agree to.”
The government has been partially shut down since December 22, when President Trump reversed course and said he would not sign any funding measure that did not include money for his border wall. Trump had previously signaled to Republicans in both houses of Congress he would accept a temporary funding measure that did not include money for the border wall.
President Trump repeatedly promised during the 2016 campaign that Mexico would pay for the wall. His campaign went so far as to publish a detailed plan on how he would make Mexico pay. That plan has been since deleted from his website, and Trump falsely claimed last week he never promised Mexico would pay.
Democrats, who took control of the House earlier this month, have been at an impasse with President Trump, refusing to allocate any money for the wall.
Watch the clip via Kasie DC below:
