House Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., predicted Monday that Democrats won’t keep the House majority for very long if they refuse to negotiate with President Trump on a border wall.
“It’s not done,” she told Fox News. “And look, if the Democrats are going to use their majority in the House of Representatives to block the funds that are necessary to secure the American people, then they won’t have their majority for very long.”
Trump last week agreed to sign a spending bill that doesn’t include any money for the border wall he wants to expand. The deal gives Congress three weeks to find some agreement on border security, but Democrats have said they will not give in and agree to any funding for Trump.
Cheney said Republicans are hopeful that it’s not that easy for Democrats to duck their responsibility to boost border security.
“I think that you’re going to find that there’s increasing pressure on the … particularly some of the freshman Democrats who were just elected who represent districts that Republicans previously held, where those constituents want the country secure, they want the border secure,” she said.
She also called Trump’s decision to reopen the closed parts of the government as a chance to test Democratic claims that they will only negotiate once the shutdown ends.
“We’re in a situation where the president said, we have got to get this money to secure the border, we’ve gotta get this money for a wall, and Democrats refuse continuously to come to the table to negotiate,” she said. “So now he’s calling their bluff, and we’re all very hopeful that they will do what’s right for the country.”
