Political Quotes

“Mr. President, like I assume most of the rest of the Members of the Senate, I am very disappointed that today we have not reached a bipartisan agreement to reopen the government. I think it is important to note that there is a lot of shared frustration on both sides of the aisle about how we got here. Leader McConnell, Senator Graham, and other Republicans have expressed their exasperation at the fact that for weeks President Trump hasn't stuck to a position for longer than a couple of hours and that he has derailed several proposals which would have addressed the concerns that have been expressed by Democrats in this body about how to move forward to keep the government open. Thankfully, there is also a lot of bipartisan consensus in the Senate that we need to work together to fix our situation, to get the government up and running again, and to address some of the long-term challenges that have led to this moment. However, in order to do this, we need the President and we need Republican leadership to provide some leadership so we can move forward. I am committed to negotiations that will allow us to address certain key issues: first and foremost, I believe, is a long-term budget agreement that will go through the remainder of this fiscal year. That will put our defense on solid footing, yet not shortchange our domestic needs.…”