Nevada Democrat calls Trump’s focus on border wall ‘unfortunate and unnecessary’

Rep.-elect Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) said Thursday that it’s “imperative” for Congress to reopen the government, and called President Trump’s demands for a border wall “unfortunate and unnecessary.”

Horsford criticized the partial government shutdown, saying “it’s imperative that today Congress does its job to reopen government, to end this Trump shutdown,” during an interview Thursday with Hill.TV’s Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton.

The Nevada Democrat said Trump’s decision to double-down on his demand for a $5 billion border wall takes away from the real issues at hand, such as lowering health care costs and addressing the rising costs of prescription medications.

“There are so many things that we need to do to get government working that the fact that we’re so focused on this is really unfortunate and unnecessary,” he said.

The newly-elected congressman will be sworn into along with other members of Congress on Thursday.

The incoming congressman emphasized that just because Democrats aren’t in favor of a barrier along the Southern border doesn’t mean that they’re not supportive of improving border security.

Horsford, who previously served in the Nevada State Senate, cited his support for a 2013 bill that including money to hire more border patrol agents.

Instead of building a wall, the Democrat argued that the U.S. needs to take a more comprehensive approach to border security.

The incoming congressman, however, said he remains “hopeful” that lawmakers will be able to get beyond the issue of the border wall.

“What the majority of people in my district sent me here to do is end the chaos and the confusion that we’ve faced for the last couple of years and to start to focus again on the primary issues of lowering health care costs, addressing the rising costs of prescription medications,” he told Hill.TV.

—Tess Bonn