Lawmaker who suggested Trump use ‘own funds’ to help pay for border wall has history of missing votes: report

Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., ranks 48th out of 435 congress members for missed votes.  (ivn.us)

A congressman who last week suggested that President Trump ought to fork over his "own funds" to help fund the border wall, reportedly has a history of missing votes on Capitol Hill.

U.S. Rep. Walter Jones, a Republican who represents North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District, missed a total of 7.7 percent of House votes in 2017 – ranking him 48th among 435 members in missed votes, according to statistics cited by the News & Observer of Raleigh.

More recently, an illness has prevented Jones from voting since late September. He has missed at least 27 roll call votes since then, through the House's reconvening in November, the report said. He is expected to Capitol Hill when Congress reconvenes in January, the News & Observer reported.

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Jones, 75, won an easy victory in the November midterms. During the primary, he said it would be his final term in office if he was elected.

The lawmaker's statement that Trump should contribute his own money was said amid a partial government shutdown, stemming in part from Congress' inability to reach a deal on Trump's request for $5 billion for a border wall.

Jones also suggested slashing federal aid or funding the war in Afghanistan as ways to come up with the extra money.

Since the federal government partially shut down Dec. 22, Republicans and Democrats have been at a seeming impasse over Trump’s demands for $5 billion for a border wall. Trump continued to press Democrats to "give us the votes necessary for border security" in a series of tweets on New Year's Eve.

House Democrats said they plan to introduce a legislative package later Monday to re-open the government, including a bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security at current levels through Feb. 8 with $1.3 billion for border security, but it's unclear what kind of support it will get from Republicans. It did not include money for the wall.

Fox News' Kaitlyn Schallhorn contributed to this report.