Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) claimed Monday that government shutdowns are always caused by Republicans during an appearance on CNN's "New Day."
Co-host Alisyn Camerota asked Brown about President Donald Trump's budget deal and how Democrats were able to pull off victories in the minority, such as Planned Parenthood not getting cut and no funding for the border wall.
"The public knows the government shutdowns are always caused by Republicans. I mean, it's just fact over the last 5 to 10 years that whenever there is a shutdown, it's usually the Tea Party that pushes for it," Brown said.
Brown went on to suggest that the general public "overwhelmingly" believes the border wall is "silly," and that the cuts to various programs to fund the wall would not have worked.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers reached an agreement on Sunday night to keep the government open by negotiating a $1 trillion-plus spending bill to cover the day-to-day operations of all federal agencies through September, the Associated Press reported.
The catchall spending bill would be the first major piece of bipartisan legislation to advance during Trump's short tenure in the White House. While losing on the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump won a $15 billion down payment on his request to strengthen the military.
The measure funds the remainder of the 2017 budget year, rejecting cuts to popular domestic programs targeted by Trump, such as medical research and infrastructure grants.
Successful votes later this week would also clear away any remaining threat of a government shutdown — at least until the Oct. 1 start of the 2018 budget year. Trump has submitted a partial 2018 budget promising a 10 percent increase for the Pentagon, financed by cuts to foreign aid and other nondefense programs that negotiators on the pending measure protected.