ALSO: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH SEN. DICK DURBIN: “ABSOLUTELY” OPEN TO INCREASING FUNDING FOR BORDER SECURITY AS LONG AS IT’S NOT FOR A BORDER WALL

PLUS: EXCLUSIVE ONE-ON-ONE WITH JULIAN CASTRO: PRESIDENT TRUMP IS “NOT BEHAVING LIKE HE’S FIT FOR OFFICE”

DEC. 23, 2018 – Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) told moderator Chuck Todd on Meet the Press that he is disturbed by the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. “I think General Mattis has put his finger on where the president has views that are very, very distinct from the vast majority of Republicans and probably Democrats, elected and unelected.”

“I think the president does not share, I would say, my view that the Pax Americana of the post-war era has been enormously good for America,” Toomey shared on the program during an exclusive interview. When asked about what he is looking for in the next secretary of defense, Toomey stated that it would be someone that shares “a more traditional view about America’s role in the world.”

On President Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria, Toomey shared that he strongly disagrees with the decision and said, “senators should speak out” when they have differences with the president. “We were elected separately from the president. We don’t report to the President. We should cooperate where we can. And where we need to disagree, we should be willing to do that.” Watch the full interview.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) also joined the program for an exclusive interview and told Chuck Todd that he is “absolutely” open to increasing funding for border security as long as it’s not for what he called President Trump’s proposed “medieval” border wall.

Durbin said the border wall is not an issue of border security, it’s an “issue of his own political insecurity. When the right-wingers start screaming at him, he just backs off and dissembles in front of us. We now have reached a depth of dysfunction that I’ve never seen in Washington.”

On Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ resignation, the Democratic Whip said, “I was one of many senators who privately sat down with General Mattis and said please stay. Stay as long as you possibly can. We desperately need your mature voice, your patriotism in the room when this president’s making life-or-death decisions about national security.” He continued, “We counted on him to be there and to stop this president from his worst impulse.”

When asked about President Trump’s fitness for office, Durbin shared on the program, “I can tell you every day I question whether or not we can endure another two years. I think we can, I think this Constitution is strong. The American people are strong. But I’m hoping that my Republican colleagues will step up and join us in a bipartisan effort to put this government back on track.” Watch the full interview.

In addition, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro joined the program in an exclusive interview and said President Trump is “not behaving like he’s fit for office. He’s behaving extremely erratically. He’s not giving the American people or our allies around the world any sense that there’s a rationale for the decisions that he’s making.”

When asked about President Trump’s decision to pull troops out of Syria, Castro responded, “I think that many folks recognize that it was time for us to pull out of Syria. However, here’s the thing. Once you’re there, you have to make sure that you have a plan for your operations there and, also, for your withdrawal.”

On a potential 2020 presidential run, Castro said he has “no doubt” that there is enough room for him and Beto O’Rourke in the race stating, “There are going to be a whole bunch of folks that are running this time. And so you know, he’s a very talented, very impressive guy. My brother, Joaquin, and I were proud to support him, when he ran against Ted Cruz. And I think that, that there are probably going to be 20 people up on that first debate stage.”

Watch the full interview.

White House Correspondent for PBS NewsHour and NBC News Contributor Yamiche Alcindor, Host of The Hugh Hewitt Show and NBC News Contributor Hugh Hewitt, Host of NPR’s 1A and NBC News Contributor Joshua Johnson, and National Editor of The Cook Political Report Amy Walter joined the broadcast’s roundtable for insight and analysis on the week in politics. Watch the full panel.

Read the full transcript of Meet the Press this morning and follow the show on Twitter and on Facebook for the latest.

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