Rep. Pete King, the no-nonsense Republican from Long Island, is no fan of the government shutting down, and he’s been critical of Ted Cruz and the far-right wing of the GOP who championed the shut down.
“We have allowed 30 or 40 people to hijack this party,” he said on Morning Joe Wednesday morning.
But King feels President Obama should do more to resolve the rifts between Democrats and Republicans regarding shutdown.
“I’ve been very critical of Republicans as have you on this,” Rep. King told co-host Joe Scarborough. “But it’s also time for the president to come in right now. I can’t imagine Lyndon Johnson or FDR or John Kennedy or Ronald Reagan standing on the side lines while their government was shut down. Forget whose fault it is; he’s the president of the United States. How do we get out of it? If [Congress] can somehow combine this agreement to bring up certain issues on the debt ceiling, the president can put something on the table regarding the medical device tax, but again, I’m not negotiating for the party. Something has to be done.”
Drew Katchen