Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Sunday that the government would not shut down this month over debates about federal funding.
“There’s not going to be a shutdown,” Cornyn said during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.” “I’m confident that we can come up with something that everybody can live with.”
The continuing resolution that is currently funding the government will expire on April 28. That means lawmakers will need to settle on a new funding mechanism before then or risk allowing the government to shut down.
When Congress returns from its two-week Easter recess, members will have roughly one week to hammer out a budget solution. Potential points of contention include funding for Planned Parenthood and appropriations for President Trump’s border wall.
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., argued Sunday that funding for the wall has already proven controversial.
“I’m not sure the president has a majority of the U.S. Senate that will support funding the wall, because I’ve talked to enough Republicans to know — and they’ve said it publicly — that it’s a waste of money and its counterproductive,” Cardin said.
But the Maryland Democrat declined to say whether he would vote to shut down the government in order to block appropriations for the wall.
“I don’t want to see a government shutdown,” Cardin said. “I’m willing to make compromises in order to keep government functioning.”
