Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, believes that constructing a physical wall on the U.S.-Mexico border would not rate high among Texans.
“I think people would say, if you are talking about a physical wall, it would rate very low. Because I think most people in Texas understand that our 1,200-mile border is not … the same at every point along the way,” Cornyn, the Senate majority whip, said in an interview Sunday with John Catsimatidis on AM 970 in New York.
Cornyn said that he agreed with Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly’s view for a “layered approach” that would consist of “fencing, technology and boots on the ground.”
{mosads}The Texas lawmaker also said that President Trump should have a right to implement his executive order that suspends immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, but noted that the measure was rushed by the White House.
“Well, I think the executive order is clearly within the president’s authority, although I think they got in a big hurry,” he said.
“I think there is a lot of people trying to create misunderstanding, some have said that this is … a ban based on religion, which it’s not, because it applies to only seven countries and countries with failed governments which are a source of a lot of international terrorism,” he added.
A federal just in Seattle issued a temporary restraining order on the ban earlier this month, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit refused the government’s request to immediately reinstate the ban.
“I think the president is within his right to hit the pause button and say we need to double-check these folks … in the interest of national security,” Cornyn reiterated.
During the interview, the lawmaker also praised Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, vowing that “one way or another, Judge [Neil] Gorsuch will be confirmed.”
“The president’s nominee is about the best nominee I’ve ever seen for the Unites States Supreme Court … he is really up there,” Cornyn said.