Van Hollen says Democrats 'not going to write a blank check' to avert shutdown

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Democrats will not “write a blank check” to the Trump administration to avert a government shutdown.

In a Sunday interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” the Maryland Democrat doubled down on the party's opposition to a GOP-backed continuing resolution (CR) to extend government funding at current levels unless money is included for health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act that are set to expire at the end of the year.

“Look, the president wants a blank check. This is a lawless president. He's been illegally withholding funds. He promised, on day one, he was going to bring down prices. They've gone up,” Van Hollen said in the interview. “What we're saying is that we should turn off this ticking time bomb, which Republicans left in place,