Another Big-Name Dem Backs Wall

Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) said in an interview earlier on CNN that she supports “strategic fencing” along the U.S.-Mexico border based on experts’ assessments.

The Daily Caller’s Amber Athey reports:
 

“Last Thursday we had a bipartisan discussion on the Senate floor about the importance of ending the shutdown, which, there was bipartisan agreement, was needless and harmful to the American people and our economy, and that we all pledged to work in good faith to find common ground on border security. That’s what I’m committed to doing, and I think that really starts with making sure we’re listening to the experts on the front lines on this, and that may include strategic fencing in certain places.”

Hassan went on to say that she could support a deal that included funding for fencing, whether that means repairing existing structures or adding new construction.

…

Hassan is just the latest Democrat to express an appetite for deal-making with President Donald Trump, perhaps exposing cracks in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s control over her party members. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer also recently echoed the need for some kind of physical barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump announced Friday he was reopening the government after the longest shutdown in history — noting that Democrats refused to negotiate on border security until the partial shutdown was over.

The New Hampshire Senator joins a growing list of Democrats – including Reps. Katie Hill (Calif.), Adam Smith (Wash.), Cheri Bustos (Ill.), and John Garamendi (Calif.) – who’ve expressed support for extensive border barriers.