Rep. Beto O'Rourke Beto O'RourkeJimmy Carter says his son smoked pot with Willie Nelson on White House roof O'Rourke endorses Kennedy for Senate: 'A champion for the values we're most proud of' 2020 Democrats do convention Zoom call MORE (D-Texas) on Sunday warned of a threat posed by President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE, saying that the current government shutdown is "part of a larger threat to us all."

O'Rourke, writing in a post on Medium, suggested that the shutdown may have been "intended to happen" because Trump faces a number of dilemmas, including special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE's investigation into Russia's election interference and a tumbling stock market.

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"But my concern for the country goes beyond the immediate pain and dysfunction that this shutdown will cause. Beyond even ensuring that this President is held accountable. What’s happening now is part of a larger threat to us all," he wrote.

He added that "if there’s no way to count on government even functioning (three shutdowns this year alone), then perhaps ultimately we become open to something else."

"Whatever we choose to call it, whether we openly acknowledge it at all, my fear is that we will choose certainty, strength and predictability over this constant dysfunction, even if it comes at the price of our democracy (the press; the ballot box; the courts; congress and representative government)," he wrote.

He added that "if there were ever a man to exploit this precarious moment for our country and our form of government," it would be Trump.

The federal government has been in a partial shutdown since Saturday after lawmakers couldn't come to an agreement on Trump's demand for $5 billion in funding for a wall along the southern border.

O'Rourke, who is considering running for the presidency in 2020 and is viewed as a potential favorite, also said that the U.S. is "at risk of losing those things that make us special" and called for people to put "country over party."

"This is not about a wall, it’s not about border security, it’s not about Democrats and Republicans. It’s about the future of our country – whether our children and grandchildren will thank us or blame us," he wrote.