Sen. Smith Calls For Government Shutdown To End

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- As the partial government shutdown hits the three-week mark, Sen. Tina Smith held a press conference Friday morning calling for for it to end.

Minnesota's Democratic junior senator said it's time to stop using federal employees for political gains.

Representatives of the American Federation of Government Employees, TSA employees, and other groups representing federal workers were also there and spoke about how this shutdown is hurting them.

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are missing their first paycheck since the shutdown began. If it reaches into Saturday, it'll become the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump spent the day in Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border to push for his border wall. He says he will get it one way or another. Trump said he might declare a national emergency and use those funds to built it if Congress doesn't give it to him.