Senate Dem: ‘You can’t operate with continuing resolutions’

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) on Monday said Democrats want to open the government, but argued it’s impractical to continue passing stopgap measures instead of a full budget.

“You got to draw a line at some point. You can’t operate with continuing resolutions. We’ve heard that from the Department of Defense, we’ve heard that from the other agencies. We could have four weeks kicking the can down the road, it’s not going to help anyone,” Cardin said on CNN’s “New Day.”

The government shutdown stretched into its third day on Monday. The Senate is expected to take a procedural vote at noon on a funding bill that would keep the government open for about three weeks.

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Democrats have opposed short-term funding bills in both chambers of Congress, and have held out for a deal on immigration reform instead. They have blamed President Trump for the shutdown, saying he’s been difficult to negotiate with.

Republicans, meanwhile, have pinned the shutdown on Democrats, saying they’re holding government funding hostage over the immigration debate.

Cardin said Democrats want to open the government, but he wants to see Congress pass a full budget.

“Our goal was to make sure we have a budget for our country, a fair budget for our country, that we take up issues that are critically important, that we have a pathway to get them resolved. If we can do that I am hopeful we can see an agreement,” Cardin said.

“We want to keep the government open, but we have to have a budget. We’re four months into the fiscal year, it’s time for a budget,” he added.