Lindsey Graham doubles down on wall funding

Turning up the heat on day one of the federal government shutdown, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) promised he wouldn’t budge on demands for border wall money.

In a Fox News interview Saturday evening with Jeanine Pirro, the lawmaker called out Democrats for the division, accusing them of waging “a silly, petty fight” on the spending bill, and assuring Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) he was in for a war.

“Senator Schumer, we’re not going to abandon the wall,” Graham vowed. “We’re going to build a wall, and to all those Americans who want us to abandon the wall and open up the border, that’s what this fight’s about.”

The GOP senator then pointed to the Central American migrant caravan, which formed earlier this year looking to arrive in the U.S., as evidence of the need for a southern border crackdown. On that, Graham refused to settle.

″Senator Schumer, what does it take for you to realize that we need more money for a broken border?” he asked. “And this is about them hating Trump so much, wanting him to lose, they can’t understand that America needs to win, and we’re not going to give in. I’m a pretty reasonable guy, but we’re not going to give in on this.”

Graham’s tough talk comes just roughly 24 hours after he appeared on the network Friday, praising President Donald Trump’s push for border money and encouraging him to “dig in” further.

While a spending proposal including money for the wall passed the GOP-led House, its progress stalled in the Senate, where Democrats have ardently rejected Trump’s demands.