Rand Paul Says Immigration Vote Would End Shutdown

The government may be stuck in a shutdown, with politicians on both sides of the aisle blaming their colleagues, but at least one Republican senator thinks he has a way to end the stalemate. On Sunday, Rand Paul told CNN's State of the Union that he had presented a compromise plan to his Republican colleagues in the Senate to reopen the government: "I gave them the answer how you solve this today," he said, per Politico. "Promise, guarantee in writing to the Democrats that there will be one week's debate on immigration and a vote on an immigration bill some time in the next month in the House and the Senate,” he said, referring to Democratic demands for some kind of resolution to the issue of young immigrants known as "dreamers."

So far, however, Paul said his proposal hasn't been accepted. “Now when I presented this to those in the Senate ... they were, like, 'Oh no, we want guaranteed passage on a must-pass bill.' Nobody gets a guaranteed passage.” Paul also said he would vote to build "some form of wall" but that the current $20 billion price tag for President Trump's proposed wall is "outrageous." Those comments come as some Democrats have appeared to soften on the issue of building a border wall. Right after the government shut down, Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he had offered to put the wall "on the table" in negotiations with President Trump, CNBC reports. But White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney slammed Schumer's offer, saying it would only include $1.6 billion in an annual appropriations bill. (More Rand Paul stories.)