Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich predicted Monday the government will not close again in three weeks, but he does think it would be a "worst case" scenario if President Donald Trump signs an emergency decree for border wall construction.
"I agree with Sen. Roy Blunt, who says it is a bad precedent," Gingrich told Fox News' "Fox & Friends." "Who knows what the next liberal will do? If [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi refuses to protect America, he has an obligation as commander in chief to protect Americans. I hope that doesn't happen."
Gingrich said he hopes the "adults" in the House and Senate will sit and work out the impasse, as he did when was speaker and fighting with then-President Bill Clinton.
"We managed to get four consecutive balanced budgets," Gingrich said. "We would listen, negotiate, sometimes yell at each other, and had very tough conversations. We always put America first and figured out how to get to an American solution."
However, he said he is concerned about Pelosi. If she is willing to guarantee a vote on the House floor, Gingrich said he thinks a bill can be written that will pass.
"But if she insists on something she can support, I doubt if they can get anything done because she is so frightened of her left-wing that she can't concede anything the president wants," Gingrich said. "But as speaker, she could schedule it and allow half the Democrats plus the Republicans to pass it."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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