Cruz and Cornyn talk border wall, shutdown during visit to Austin

AUSTIN, Texas (FOX 7 Austin) - Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn said in a visit to Austin Friday that the president is trying his best to find a solution to the government shutdown and secure the border at the same time.

The two visited with President Trump during his stop in Texas on Thursday.

“The Democrats' position is and remains, hell no, they won’t compromise, they won’t talk. They will insist the government is shut down so long as even one penny is allocated to building a border physical barrier,” said Cruz.

The two met with the president on his visit to McAllen.

“We flew down with him on Air Force One, spent most of the trip talking about border security, talking about the common sense steps we need to take to secure the border, to protect Texans,” said Cruz.

The two provided their insights during a Texas Public Policy Foundation event.

They stand firm behind the president's stance and want to allocate money to build a wall, however Cornyn says, don't touch disaster relief money. “I will oppose any reprogramming of Harvey disaster funds. We have worked very hard to make sure the victims of Hurricane Harvey, their concerns are addressed and Texas is able to rebuild,” said Cornyn.

Cruz says the best way to pay for it? Pass his bill called the El Chapo Act. “Take money criminally forfeited from el Chapo and other drug lords and use their billions to build the wall. You can do that without spending any tax money,” said Cruz.

There are a lot of ideas on what it takes to end the shutdown, but until both sides can compromise, the 800,000 furloughed Americans are left as collateral damage. “We need to see compromise, we need to see people coming and seeking common ground. The president has said he's more than happy to compromise,” said Cruz.