RICK SANTORUM: Every time Republicans have tried to do this, tried to get something in exchange for funding, we've ended up on the short end of the stick because the American public figured out that our responsibility is to keep the trains running here. If you have problems, work them out, but keep things moving. This time, the Democrats have actually stepped in it. This is the Democrats now saying, we won't vote for something unless you do it. In the past, every government shutdown was Republicans wanting something in exchange for funding the government. This time it's the Democrats wanting something, and I think that's the loser. 



BAKARI SELLERS: Well, I think that we need to add some intellectual honesty to the conversation. The fact is, is this -- in 2013, the Republicans and [Senator] Rand Paul [R-KY] and [Senator] Ted Cruz [R-TX] were holding out hope that you could defund Obamacare, something that wasn't popular, something that they haven't been able to do with the majority. Here Democrats are asking for something that nearly 90 percent of the American public want to happen. And the simple fact is the reason we're here is because Republicans in control didn't reauthorize [the Children's Health Insurance Program]. Republicans in control are the reason that we have [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] uncertainty, and Republicans in control, for the first time in modern history, in control of the House, Senate and White House, cannot seem to keep government running. So, that's why we're here. It doesn't have anything to do with 2013. It doesn't have anything to do with [Senator] Chuck Schumer [D-NY]. This falls square on the shoulders of the president of the United States. 

Previously:

When Trump told Fox that presidents were to blame for government shutdowns

Mick Mulvaney tells Hannity: “The person who technically shuts down the government is me, which is kind of cool”

How the press helped cause the GOP shutdown