Border security means physical barriers, US Sen. McSally says
Jan 17, 2019, 7:23 AM | Updated: 7:25 am
U.S. Rep Martha McSally, R-Ariz., goes over the rules in a television studio prior to a televised debate with U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., Monday, Oct. 15, 2018, in Phoenix. Both ladies are seeking to fill the seat of U.S. Sen. Jake Flake, R-Ariz., who is retiring. The Arizona Senate contest is one of the most closely-watched in the nation. (AP Photo/Matt York)
(AP Photo/Matt York)
PHOENIX – The stalemate between the White House and Congress over funding for a border wall has frustrated plenty of Americans, including U.S. Sen. Martha McSally of Arizona.
“Let’s stop with the nonsense … and sort this out,” McSally said Thursday on KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News.
McSally, who was sworn into office earlier this month, has been busy even as the federal government entered a 27th day of partial shutdown.
“I’m talking to the White House, talking to other senators, trying to see if there’s a way we can break this impasse.”
President Donald Trump and Democratic leadership have locked horns over the border wall. The president has asked for over $5 billion to put a wall between the nation’s southern border and Mexico.
“Most Americans, most Arizonans agree we need border security and that does include barriers,” McSally said.
“This used to be a unifying issue. Democrats and Republicans used to agree border security is important, that border security is national security, that it includes physical barriers.”
A KTAR News/OH Predictive Insights poll this week showed that 46 percent of Arizonans polled didn’t support the shutdown over the wall funding.
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McSally, a Republican from Tucson, was appointed to the Senate seat by Gov. Doug Ducey, after Jon Kyl finished a planned temporary stint.
Both appointments were necessary to fill John McCain’s term. The longtime senator died in August of cancer.
McSally had her sights set on the Senate, just not this particular seat. She lost to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema in November in the battle to replace Jeff Flake.
She said talk of Trump declaring a national emergency to bypass Congress to get the border wall built was, “a last resort, certainly.
“I would prefer Democrats come to the table.”
A bipartisan group of senators, including Democrat Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, were prepared to send a letter to Trump expressing their willingness to beef up border security if it would end the government shutdown.
