Republican senators are giving up hope on the shutdown

Republican senators Cruz and Johnson.
(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

With the partial government shutdown poised to become the longest in history, some congressional Republicans are throwing their hands up in defeat.

Senate Republicans have not had much of a role to play in the partial government shutdown, which has primarily been a stand-off between President Trump and congressional Democrats. But Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and some of his colleagues have been attempting to work out their own solution. Theirs would involve the government re-opening as members of Congress debate an immigration bill, with Republicans potentially throwing DACA into the mix to get Democrats on board with wall funding, reports Politico.

But on Thursday, Graham suggested he is essentially giving up and doesn't know what else he and his colleagues can do, as Politico reports his idea was a non-starter with Trump seeing as there would be no guarantee that their immigration bill would go anywhere.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"I see no path forward," Graham said, NBC reports. He added that he's "done" trying to strike a deal because "I don't know who to talk to and I don't know what else to do." He also said, per The New York Times, that when it comes to a solution, he has "never felt more depressed than I do now."

Graham wasn't the only Republican in a bad mood about the whole thing, with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) saying a potential immigration deal with Democrats was essentially no more, The Washington Post reports. Don't expect this to change anytime soon, as Politico reports members of the Senate were headed home for the weekend by 2:00 p.m.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.