James Comer undercuts Trump's threats and condemns possible Maxwell pardon on CNN

A top Republican in Congress pushed back on claims made by President Donald Trump about the government shutdown and a potential pardon for convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.

Rep. James Comer (R-KY) joined CNN's Jake Tapper on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing government shutdown and a few of Trump's latest threats. Earlier in the day, Trump threatened to withhold pay from furloughed government workers. The president has also not yet denied whether he will pardon Maxwell or not, a topic that was revisited during a Monday news conference when CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked Trump about the pardon.

Comer responded to Trump's claims during the interview.

"If you look at history, I've said [government shutdowns] never end well, because if you think you're going to save money, you're not, because you're going to have to go back and pay all these salaries," Comer said. "Republicans have traditionally shut the government down to try to save money, and that didn't work."

"Now we have a situation where, in my opinion, the Democrats are shutting the government down because they want to spend more money," he added. "But I think the employees will get paid."

Tapper also asked Comer whether Trump should pardon Maxwell, who worked with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

"I do not think he should. I've been very vocal about that," Comer said. "I've seen enough information thus far from the thousands of pages of documents that the Department of Justice has turned over, in addition to the documents that we subpoenaed from the estate, in addition to conversations that I've had with some of the victims of Epstein and Maxwell, that I can say with confidence, I would strongly discourage any type of pardon or commutation of Maxwell."