Lawmakers need to pass legislation to fund the government, and while immigration reform is an important matter, it should not be part of the funding discussions, Sen. John Barrasso said Thursday.
"I have agree with the president," the Wyoming Republican told Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "We need border security. We need enforcement. We need to be able to end chain migration, something that started back in 1965 but has been hijacked since then."
However, the funding measure should be separate, Barrasso said, complaining that Democrats are talking about shutting down the government over immigration issues.
"We need to keep the government funded and that's what a responsible governing body does, not shut down the government," Barrasso said.
Democrats want legislation on former President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals executive order, but Barrasso said he believes border security is most important.
"That is critical to me and that includes infrastructure, manpower, the technology to make sure we have a secure border," he said. "[Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell has said if there is a bipartisan agreement and something the president says he will sign, then that will be brought to the Senate floor for a vote. But if the president isn't ready to sign it there is no reason to go through the floor debate in the senate to deal with this."
Barrasso said he's focused on keeping the government funded, because finances for the "priorities of the American people keep the country safe, secure, and strong. We need to keep the government funded and that's what I'm focused on now."
The senator also commented about Trump's tweets on several foreign relations matters, including a taunt to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un about the size of his nuclear "button."
"I think the world is a much more dangerous place now than it was 10 years ago," said Barrasso, a foreign policy committee member. "We saw that as the last administration allowed things to go to a level that they should have never gotten to. I'm delighted that President Trump has taken an active role and now we have much more involvement with China with regard to North Korea that we didn't have before. We have the support for the Iranian protesters that we didn't have in a previous administration."