Paul suggests measure of 'a week or two' to discuss options. Paul: Open the government

Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday said he would support a short-term funding measure “to keep the government open while we negotiate.”

“I think what we could do is pass a very short term, maybe not six weeks, but what about one week, so we could negotiate over a week,” the Kentucky Republican told CNN’s “New Day.” “I think a continuing bill to keep the government open while we negotiate is a good idea. I do agree that negotiating with the government closed probably to [Democrats] appears like strong-arm tactics.”


But it does need to be short-term enough “that we are having an active negotiation that we don’t just say we’re going to fund it for three months or two months and come back,” he said.

“I think if we did it for a week or two, we could still continue to negotiate, have a conference committee and really I think the American people do want us to work this out,” Paul said.

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“New Day” co-host Kate Bolduan told Paul that his comment “might be the first glimmer of hope I’ve heard all morning.”

Bolduan later asked Paul what he thinks of Democrats who believe anti-Obamacare Republicans are “beginning from an irrational bargaining position.”

“If you and I disagree and I start out by calling you irrational, we’re not going to get anywhere,” Paul said. “Obviously when we disagree, we don’t like the premise of the other person’s position. But the thing is, funding is a function of Congress. So, a law is passed, but how we fund it and how we modify that law overtime — it doesn’t mean from here till the end of time Obamacare is everything that the president wanted it to be.”

“The president has been modifying his own plan over the past several months,” he added. “Should Congress not be part of that? Some of us think it’s illegal for the president to do it without our authority. So, really, I think we should be part of the mix and he shouldn’t get 100 percent of Obamacare as he wants it without any input from Republicans as well as the rest of the country.”