Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) says the reason the government is still shutdown is because the Democrats are only considering “zero” when it comes to negotiations.
“In December, the then-Republican House passed funding for the entire federal government. It included $5.7 billion for an additional 234 miles of steel barrier, “ Cruz told Meet The Press Sunday.
“When it got to the Senate, Chuck Schumer and the Democrats filibustered that bill. Every Democrat said, ‘No, we will not allow the government to be funded, so long as they're building even a single mile of barrier.’
That's why we have a shutdown.”
“And that's not a reasonable position. And the president's position has been, he's perfectly happy to negotiate, to compromise. He's said many times, it doesn't have to be $5.7 billion. He could find some other number.
But the Democrats have said, ‘No’. The only thing they're willing to consider is zero, zero, zero.”