Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., warned Sunday against letting the federal government shutdown this week because of the effects it could have on national security and foreign affairs.
“We cannot shut down the government right now,” Rubio told CBS “Face the Nation” host John Dickerson, citing a number foreign events and threats.
“We have a potential crisis brewing with North Korea. We’ve seen what’s going on, the ongoing crisis in Syria. We don’t know what the outcome of the French election is going to be, but that could potentially throw the European Union and the NATO alliance into some level of consternation,” Rubio said. “The last thing we can afford is to send a message to the world that the United States government, by the way, is only partially functioning. I mean, that would just have catastrophic impact in my view, or certainly very destabilizing, I should say, impact on global affairs.”
Rubio said Congress’ priority is finishing the current budget year, but appropriating funding for 2018 should start to take place now.
The shutdown could come on President Trump’s 99th day in office, one day before he celebrates 100-day mark with a rally in Pennsylvania.
President Trump is willing to shut down the federal government to get funding for the U.S.-Mexico border wall, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly told CNN this weekend. Meanwhile Trump’s budget chief, Mick Mulvaney, played down shutdown talks Sunday while White House Chief of Staff Reince Preibus expressed optimism that Trump will get a border security victory in any spending bill deal.
