Connecticut congressman on ongoing partial government shutdown and war in Iran

(CBS, KYMA) - Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) spoke spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday about the ongoing partial government shutdown.

On Friday, House Republicans rejected a Senate-passed bill to end the partial government shutdown, which is now in its 45th day as of Monday, and instead voted for short-term funding, which the Senate rejected.

When asked what Democrats got out of this standoff, Rep. Himes said:

"The standoff is not done yet, right? The President is illegally paying, apparently, TSA agents. You had the Senate pass a bipartisan bill unanimously in the United States Senate to say, 'Look, let's fund everybody else, and let's deal with this thorny issue about ICE.' And then you had the Republican House say, 'Hell no, we're not doing that.' And by the way, mock their own Republican leaders in the Senate. So look what...this thing is still very much live for one very simple reason. We can talk about House, Senate, changing law, for one very simple reason, which is that the vast majority of Americans look at the way ICE behaved with the murder of two American citizens, with the constant knocking down of doors of American citizens without warrants, people dressed like they are, you know, airlifting into Fallujah to do the legitimate work of going after illegal aliens in this country, and they say that is not okay, and that's our position. Our position is very simply, we want ICE to act like the police force that they are, and that fight is not won yet. And look, I'm sorry it got tied up. I'm sorry that the Republicans on one side of the Capitol said this was a good idea, and on the other side of the Capitol. They called it a joke, but we're ready to negotiate around something that is not a radical demand. We just want ICE to act like proper police officers."

During the interview, Brennan and Himes talked about the ongoing war in Iran, with the congressman saying President Donald Trump's not really negotiating with Iran.

This prompted Brennan to ask if it's because he hasn't been briefed as a member of Congress on the diplomacy, or if he think's President Trump is lying, to which Himes said:

"I think he's flat out lying...and by the way, we're in exactly the same position today, you know, oil prices now $112 a barrel. And you know futures in the stock market down 2%. Last Sunday, he realized, oh my God, I've got a financial cataclysm on Monday. So he just made it up that they're in negotiations with the Iranians. Look underneath that statement, the Iranians have now realized that they have the reins. They are controlling the Strait of Hormuz. Gasoline prices are up more than $1 a gallon, and so the Iranians realize, 'Holy smokes. We've got a lot of leverage here.'"

To watch more of Brennan's interview with Himes, click here.