Senator Bob Coker (R-TN) took to CNN’s State of the Union today, speaking out against Donald Trump’s government shutdown over the President’s desire for billions of dollars in border wall funding.
“This is a made-up fight, so the President can look like he’s fighting, but even if he wins, our borders are going to be insecure,” said Corker.
The U.S. government is shut down on Friday amid a stalemate orchestrated by President Trump after lawmakers had provided a continuing resolution (CR) to keep essential government functions open over the holidays.
The President, largely spurred on my criticisms over the lack of border wall funding in the CR, dug in his feet, demanding that 5 billion dollars for “border security” be tacked onto the CR. This caused the senate to adjourn on Saturday afternoon without an agreement.
While congress will be back on Monday technically, the next true session won’t be until after Christmas, with many predicting the shutdown to last into the new Year without concessions from the administration.
Corker, who is retiring from congress, called the shutdown a “purposefully contrived fight,” citing previous funding battles that could have provided ample border funding.
“This is something that’s unnecessary, it’s a spectacle, and candidly, it’s juvenile. The whole thing is juvenile,” Corker added.
He also attacked the notion of the wall itself, claiming there was better technology that could be used to secure the border.
“It’s not unlike going to the Pentagon and saying look, we need to buy fighters, and we have stealth fighters,” said Corker. “They’re supersonic and they have precision-guided missiles — but no let’s use the Wright Brothers. So, it’s not just about the money, but what we’re spending it on.”
View the discussion below:
Images via screen capture from video source.