Despite spending time in the nation’s capital meeting with Vice President Mike Pence, Missouri’s new governor is not weighing in on President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order on immigration.
Gov. Eric Greitens instead is staying mum amid criticism and praise of the temporary travel ban by other top Missouri officials and fellow governor’s across the nation.
“We are not commenting yet on the national immigration order,” Greitens spokesman Parker Briden said. “We may later.”
Greitens made an unannounced trip to Washington D.C. and posted pictures on social media of himself sitting with the former Indiana governor, who campaigned in Missouri twice on Greitens behalf during the election season.
In a statement, Greitens said the two talked about challenges facing Missouri.
“I know that with a strong partnership between the White House and the Governor’s office, we can take our state in a new direction with more jobs, higher pay, safer streets, and better schools for all Missourians,” the statement noted.
In contrast to Greitens’ silence on the immigration order, Republican U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said he supports the idea.
“Our top priority should be to keep Americans safe,” Blunt said.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill panned the edict, saying she has “serious questions” about the decree.
Democratic and Republican governors, as well as top university officials and business leaders have expressed concern about the order.
GOP Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, for example, said the effects of the travel ban are “problematic.”
The order bans non-American citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, but was stayed by two courts.
Briden, meanwhile, said Greitens did not use one of the state’s aircraft to travel to Washington. But, he would not disclose whether he flew on a commercial airline or took a privately owned jet.
Briden did say the administration is still working on a policy regarding the use of the taxpayer-paid airplane used regularly by former Gov. Jay Nixon. For the time being, he said the governor is attempting to use it as little as possible.
“We’re going to try and avoid that,” Briden said.