Graham gives up on shutdown talks: 'I have never been more depressed'
by Al Weaver
| January 10, 2019 03:20 PM
Sen. Lindsey Graham said Thursday he has given up his attempt to negotiate an end the partial government shutdown and said he has "never been more depressed" after trying to find an answer.
Graham had been pushing the White House, Senate Republicans, and Senate Democrats to find a legislative agreement on border security so President Trump wouldn't have to declare a national emergency to access money to build a border wall. But Graham's effort came crashing down Thursday as momentum halted.
"I just don't see a pathway," Graham told reporters. "I'm done. I don't know who to talk to, and I don't know what else to do."
"I don't see a pathway forward. The president's not going to back down," he said. "The Democrats are apparently not going to negotiate until the government is open, and if you even open the government, the House isn't going to negotiate about funding for the wall."
The lack of any legislative solution had some observers guessing that President Trump would soon declare a national emergency in order to gain access to federal money to build parts of the border wall without waiting for approval from Congress.
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