Ted Cruz downplays the idea of another government shutdown

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) on Saturday threw cold water on the prospect of another government shutdown, saying the only person who wanted another one was President Obama.

"There is one person and one person only talking about shutting down the government, and that is the White House," he said at the Americans for Prosperity summit in Dallas.

In a recent interview, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that if the GOP were to retake the Senate in November, the party would stuff spending bills with riders rolling back Obama-era policies. That in itself wouldn't amount to shutting down the government, though it would force Obama to choose between funding the government or vetoing legislation in hopes Republicans would cave.

Subscribe to The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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

As Cruz knows all too well, Republicans got creamed in the polls during last year's shutdown, so the party isn't exactly itching for a repeat of that debacle.