SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney says he doesn't think using the government shutdown to push for funding for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is the right way "to get things done."
The Standard-Examiner newspaper reports the Utah senator made the comments Tuesday night in Farmington, Utah, during his first town hall since being elected. Romney said he supports beefing up barriers on the border, but would rather see government employees getting paid.
Romney said using the shutdown to push the border wall issue is "not effective" or "appropriate."
The Republican and 2012 GOP presidential nominee has been critical of President Donald Trump, but during an appearance last week in Ogden he backed the president's push for a border wall that's led to the shutdown while chiding Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.