Sen. Joni Ernst Joni Kay ErnstTillis appears to reinforce question about COVID-19 death toll The power of incumbency: How Trump is using the Oval Office to win reelection Poll: Trump opens up 6-point lead over Biden in Iowa MORE (R-Iowa) said Sunday she would rather not see the U.S.-Mexico border close despite threats by President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE to prevent certain groups of migrants from crossing into the U.S.

"We would prefer that we keep it open, so let's work really hard to make sure that we're addressing the asylum seekers before they actually come over the border," Ernst said on CNN's "State of the Union."

The Iowa Republican was responding to Trump's suggestion that he may close the southern border if Mexico does not agree to hold migrants while the U.S. processes their asylum claims.

"I think the intent of the president is to divert any issues before they actually happen," Ernst said. "And so, of course we don't want to see the border close...but you know what? The safety of our nation comes first."

“We would prefer that we keep it open so let’s work really hard to make sure we’re addressing the asylum seekers before they actually come over the border … but you know what, safety of our nation comes first,” GOP Sen. Joni Ernst says about the US-Mexico border (corrects name) pic.twitter.com/jIQ4XGVeT4 — CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) November 25, 2018

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Ernst avoided criticizing Trump over his threats to close the border, saying “I think the president sees results any time that he does bring up an issue and he does lay down certain reasons why he’s doing what he’s doing."

She went on to say she does not want to see a government shutdown over border wall funding, as Trump has threatened in the past.

"We have a lot of departments that do a lot of good for our citizens, so we need to make sure that we're funding them properly through Congress but also realizing the goal of the President and that is to fund the border wall," she said.

Ernst also declined to criticize Trump over his response to the killing of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Ernst disputed that the president is "giving the Saudis a pass" by declining to dole out further punishment or hold the crown prince accountable for Khashoggi's death.

"I do think we need to look into [the Khashoggi killing] further," Ernst said. "And we need to understand where the investigations are leading us. And I'm anxious to hear from a number of our intelligence agencies on this.

"Now, Saudi Arabia is a great strategic partner for us," she added. It is an important country when it when it comes to the the Middle Eastern region. We know that they they are great projection platform for us. We understand that. However... we also are a very strong nation when it comes to human rights when it comes to the rule of law. And if there are indicators that the Prince was involved in this murder then we need to absolutely consider further action."

Ernst, who was recently elected the vice chairwoman of the Senate Republican Conference, was also asked about how the Republican Party can better reach out to women voters. She said the party must better communicate how its policy positions benefit women, like tax cuts and deregulation.

"We need to be better about communicating all of the great things that we are doing and then encourage those women to run for elected office," she said.