‘Get these folks back to work': Gov. Hogan calls for end to government shutdown

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - In an interview with FOX 5's Steve Chenevey, Gov. Larry Hogan called for an end to the "political nonsense" and for both parties to come to a resolution to end the government shutdown.

Hogan was critical of both the president and Democrats who were in the national spotlight Wednesday evening, stating neither side did anything to help the nation get closer to a resolution.

"We need border security, almost everyone can agree with that. But why are we punishing 800,000 federal workers? And 300,000 of them are in the Washington Metropolitan area and 147,000 of them are in my state," the Republican governor explained. "These are real people with real families who need those paychecks. They have nothing to do with border security down on our southern border. Why can't we accomplish both things? Get these folks back to work and focus on keeping our borders safe. It's just political nonsense."

As the shutdown enters its 19th day, Hogan said he wanted lawmakers to think of the workers and the families impacted by their inability to come to an agreement.

"These aren't all high-end, wealthy people who have plenty of savings," Hogan said. "Some of these are people who are struggling to pay their bills every month and it's not fair because they have nothing to do with the problem."

The shutdown, now the second-longest in the nation's history, was a caused after President Donald Trump's called for the inclusion of $5.7 billion to the federal budget to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats have not budged on including the money for the wall in the budget.

In the video player above, watch Gov. Larry Hogan's full interview with FOX 5's Steve Chenevey.