Texas Sen. John Cornyn John CornynThe Hill's Campaign Report: GOP set to ask SCOTUS to limit mail-in voting Liberal super PAC launches ads targeting vulnerable GOP senators over SCOTUS fight Senate GOP faces pivotal moment on pick for Supreme Court MORE (R) said he is "optimistic" about the prospect of Senate and House negotiators reaching a compromise on immigration reform and border security before the Feb. 15 deadline to prevent a government shutdown.

In an interview airing Sunday on AM 970 "The Answer," Cornyn told John Catsimatidis that a compromise bill could still be possible while accusing Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiPelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare House lawmakers reach deal to avert shutdown Centrist Democrats 'strongly considering' discharge petition on GOP PPP bill MORE (D-Calif.) of causing partisan gridlock on the issue.

“I am more optimistic today than I have been about a deal on border security," Cornyn says in the interview.

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"Unfortunately this reflects some of the worst of Washington, because this really hasn’t been about border security. This hasn’t even really been about the money. It’s been about Ms. Pelosi wanting to make a political point, and denying the president something that he would consider to be a win," he says.

Cornyn stressed that "cooler heads" would see Congress through to a compromise on the issues of funding for President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE's planned border wall or other border security measures. Pelosi has vowed publicly to not provide even $1 in funding for construction of a border wall.

"But I think cooler heads are prevailing," Cornyn says. "We have a conference committee … that’s going to work something out."

"The only question is — is this going to be something that both Ms. Pelosi and the president can essentially agree to where both get a win?" he says. "But we don’t need to shut the government down again.”

Congress has until Feb. 15 to reach a deal to fund the federal government that passes the White House's muster for border security measures. It's unclear whether Trump will stick to his previous demand for more than $5 billion for wall funding in any bill to keep the government funded.

Trump plans to address the issue of border security Monday at a rally in El Paso, Texas, as lawmakers meet for a final week of negotiations before the Friday deadline.