It would be “ridiculous” for Congress to allow another government shutdown, Sen.-elect Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) said Friday.
Appearing on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Gardner was asked if he could support a shutdown as Republicans seek to stop President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.
{mosads}“No, absolutely not. There’s no time, place or purpose of a government shutdown or default. That’s simply ridiculous and something that a mature governing body doesn’t even contemplate,” he said.
Congress faces a deadline of Dec. 11 for passing a funding bill, or the government will close.
While an omnibus to keep the government open is in the works, some conservatives in the House are pushing to include a rider that would block funding for Obama’s immigration orders.
Including such a provision would likely spark a high-stakes standoff with Senate Democrats.
Obama is vowing to tackle immigration alone and is reportedly preparing an order that would expand his deferred deportation program for up to 5 million people.
Gardner, who is now a member of the House, said immigration reform should be a joint effort between the Obama administration and Congress.
“The bottom line is the House, the Senate, the White House should work together. Now I know people are saying we’ve tried to do that. That’s taken too long. Well, you know what? It can take time. Let’s get together,” he said.
Gardner declined several times to say if he would be onboard with blocking Obama in the spending bill and also suggested Republicans shouldn’t pursue legal action.
“The bottom line is this, instead of charging each other with lawsuits or litigation or executive orders or abuses of power, why don’t we actually do what the American people sent us to do? Let’s work together. Let’s be the grown ups in the room.”