Outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., expressed doubt Thursday that disagreement about border wall funding is worth a government shutdown.
“We don’t want to have a shutdown, I have no interest in doing that. That makes no sense,” Ryan said during an interview with the Washington Post Live.
President Trump has threatened to shut down the government if Congress does not fully fund his $5 billion border wall between the United States and Mexico.
So far, a plan making headway in Congress would appropriate $1.6 billion for the project.
Ryan said he agrees with the president and other Republicans with a hardline outlook on immigration on the need to augment border security, but it should not stop the federal government from operating.
“This used to be a bipartisan issue,” Ryan said. “It has all of a sudden become partisan for ridiculous reasons in my opinion. It should be bipartisan, securing our border. “
[Opinion: This government shutdown drama is boring and predictable. Can we just stop watching already?]
