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Cornyn Lauds Cruz But Won't Support Gov't Shutdown

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) answers questions during a press conference regarding the omnibus spending bill on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

AUSTIN (AP) — U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is congratulating his Texas colleague Ted Cruz for a "remarkable 21-hour performance." But he still says he can't support provoking a government shutdown to halt funding for Obamacare.

Cruz, who like Cornyn is a Republican, spoke all night on the Senate Floor.

It was part of his doomed-to-fail attempt to keep Senate Democrats from stripping the repeal of the White House-backed health care law from an emergency spending measure that funds the government. Doing so might have provoked a government shutdown when the current budget runs out next week.

Cornyn told reporters after Cruz finished Wednesday that while he remains "committed to defunding Obamacare, I'm also committed to avoiding a government shutdown."

He said a shutdown would benefit Democrats while failing to stop funding for Obamacare.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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