Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake said he doesn’t know how Congress will settle the shutdown.
“How does this end?” co-host Mika Brzezinski asked.
“I don’t know, I can’t believe it will go for very long,” Flake said on Tuesday’s Morning Joe. “I hope today or tomorrow, we can open it back up.”
Flake did not support the Republican-led initiative to try and barter changes to Obamacare in exchange for funding the government.
“I share the goal, not the strategy,” Flake said, explaining that he never thought the latest tactic to derail President Obama’s health care reform would work.
“If you’re going to take a stand on something, the other side has to fear a shutdown. In this case, the Democrats knew if there was a shutdown, Republicans would take the blame. You’re threatening something the other side isn’t fearful of,” he said.
Flake introduced a bill in the Senate to delay Obamacare for a year, but said he believes it should be a conversation outside of funding the government.
Jane Timm