Transcript for Everyone's been 'playing politics instead of policy' during shutdown: GOP senator

Let's bring in Republican senator James Lankford a member of the senate homeland security committee good morning senator. Good morning to you I know you worked with the White House and other senators to formulate this new proposal but Democrats are already calling the president's pitch a non starter so are we back to square one you just heard senator Gillibrand there. I certainly hope we're not back to square one on this the problem that we've had for the past thirty days has been never once been Sterger one playing politics and set a policy. Politics is a lot easier than policy on this small we gonna do is get a proposal on the table. When I encourage the White House to do and more flows incurs the White House to do is put that in a proposal. They've listened to a lot of Democrat and Republican members for the last month. How they've heard all the demands they know the background on it put out I strongman proposal against summing up their the president say I could support this and has elements from both sides. Put on the table that open up for debate the vote this week in the senate is not to pass the bill it is to open up and say. Can we debate this can we amend it can we make changes let's find a way to barely get the government open because there are elements and that's. That are clearly elements that have been supported by Democrats strongly in the past. Like the bridge acts like trying to get asylum to those in Central America read them having to travel all the way to the United States humanitarian relief. We'll look at Democrats say. The Democrats say it's a nonstarter because the deal doesn't go far enough in offering permanent protection for dreamers. Should that be on the table or is that three year extension the final GOP offer. So what what's in an outback can speak for the White House and where they are on things but it was what's engine mir's the president is saying are OK let's take the dock issue what's give them three years. For the first time ever legislative approval because doctors you know has been eight administrative approval. So what's actually put through the congress have legislative approval and let's take it past the next presidential election. And so this can be determined it's no longer the quoting quote leverage point doing with the kids in daka also did the same thing for those in temporary protected status from. El Salvador Honduras that's hundreds of thousands of people that would give they've been an extension of what they already passed. And so it is it is a big deal to be able put up they're they're conversation about what happened last February. That's saying that there was a full on docked for individuals to be able to get citizenship for a wall actually that was 25 billion in in total border security. For long term protections. For those that are in doctor of the presence still said we can talk but that another time but let let's get the government opened Los I'll wait this out. Let's get the government open do what we can get result result. I want your reaction to the president's tweaked which I read to senator Gillibrand. Putting amnesty on the table saying amnesty will be used only on a much bigger deal whether on immigration or something else likewise no big push to remove the eleven million plus people what's your reaction to them. His injury I don't know what presidents calling and a citizen restarting met for the adults much the conversation but dreamers has really not been about the kids they came across spent about their families whether it be their parents whether it be siblings other folks is is well most of the dreamer conversation. Is a citizenship for dreamers and for everyone else in their family as well. How so very often a dreamer conversation is about. And not what no one million or two million it's about twelve million people so what I don't knows what the presence talking about there to say amnesty really involves a much larger group. A that's a longer debate an option awesome and we can solve quickly the best thing that we can do is solve the few elements were re do have common ground on get those resolved. Get the government back open to people are actually getting checks again this is absurd to keep does dragging on this long so solve a few issues but not try to solve a bunch of issues at this time. Well I add to that point reopening the government speaker Pelosi released a statement saying the president should quote stop holding the American people hostage with a senseless shut down. Each day he prolongs this needless crisis coast Guardsmen FBI agents Border Patrol officers TSA agents and hundreds of thousands more workers. Are forced to live without knowing how they can feed their families or pay their bills so why not reopen the government while negotiating. On the border wall. For dreamer protections. Well I if there's any two people that say they're they're not an emotion to say trust me it is speaker Pelosi and the president's they're not looking at each other and neither one of them is trusting the other one the best that we can do was to resolve all we can resolve so for speaker Pelosi estate trust me president. Open the government and then I'll negotiate the President Clinton responded no I I don't trust you right now. As as she doesn't trust him. So let's do what we can get it in writing get it passed and get resolved and some of these issues are are really odd references the fencing issue that stricker closed his called immoral. President Clinton built fencing president HW bush bill fencing. President George W. Bush built fencing President Obama built fencing. This is not been and a moral issue and the president's been very clear. He's talking about 234 miles of fencing along a 2000 mile border it's all in the priority areas them majority the issues will be done by technology. And the normal areas that we handle border security so this is become highly politicized. But when you look at the actual facts on the ground see this is something that should in could be resolved in in the past just hasn't been a partisan issue. Of course he did say Mexico would pay for that wall. Just Lester the president appeared open to a similar deal to protect dreamers only to pull his support. After coming under fire from conservatives like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter Ann after the president's remarks yesterday and culture tweeted. Trump opposes amnesty we voted for trump and gotten jab. Are you confident GOP supporters there for a plan among trumps base. And among conservatives in the house. Well I think the presence but a reasonable compromise in the table everyone knew for gonna go through this process for an end of compromising on multiple different areas to be able to resolve it. But the core elements are there that we all strongly belief about. That is how do you secure the actual border. And the dreamers these doctor kids we know this element this group of folks they have all gone through background checks are currently there are involved in our system right now. How they're in our schools or her workplaces. This is a group of students and young adults that we all know as a nation that live down the street from us go to church with us. So for this group of individuals I just don't see an issue without and I don't see that being amnesty this has been a long term issue for us as a nation I think can be resolved. And senator I didn't want an end here by showing you a video that's garnered viral this weekend. Teenage trump supporters. Taunting a native American veteran at the end of the indigenous peoples march here in Washington your state has one of the highest native American populations. What's your message to those teenagers and has the president created this environment doing things like calling Elizabeth Warren pop up fast. Whether I would say a couple of things about the video one is Odyssey that young man sitting awkwardly closest someone that doesn't seem natural two here we'll have that don't seem taunting him months in just standing there staring at him I would say there are a lot of rallies that I've seen. You don't think that would intimidating to have that teenager at a certain limited no no certainly do and I wasn't trying to say that those saying that is intimidating stance are really close to him but I've seen lots of rallies and events pursing individuals. Yelling and screaming in people's faces. And trying to be able to intimidate them so what I've seen a lot worse and that that is highly disrespectful not only to a native American German but any older gentleman. For a teenager to do that the key issue that I would say is in our culture. For whatever reason in our current culture whether it's on social media whether it's at events I see people trying to stop hate with more hate. That doesn't help us is a culture there's anything we should all learn from Martin Luther King Jr. is hate doesn't drive out hate only love drives out date. Paso for us to be able to respond back with love and compassion to people resident trying to drive out hatred and more hatred would certainly help us in our social media culture. And with the dialogue it's happening it would certainly help us at events in the bill have more open dialog in even things like this conversation about border security and where regarding government shut down. To be able to continue to drop of the rhetoric doesn't help us to be able actually have floor debates which is the request now how to we actually get things on the floor. I don't miss senator I'm an act I'm gonna have to stop you there and we'll see what happens this week thanks so very much for joining us.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.