King Says Cruz Conservatives Want to ‘Hijack’ GOP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Peter King is charging that tea party-backed members of the House Republican Caucus are trying to "hijack the party."

The New York Republican says he senses that increasing numbers of House Republicans — perhaps as many as a hundred — are growing weary of "the Ted Cruz wing of the party."

King, who calls himself a "blue-collar conservative," tells MSNBC there are meetings among Republican lawmakers Wednesday with the aim of resolving the stalemate that has forced a partial government shutdown, saying many rank and file Republicans are "tired of this policy."

He also chided President Barack Obama for standing down from the fight, saying he couldn't imagine presidents like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan adopting such a stance during a governmental crisis.