Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- With the new congress taking office Thursday comes a more powerful, yet familiar role for Jim Clyburn.
The 6th District Congressman has been named House Majority Whip; The third most powerful position in the House of Representatives. That puts him just behind house speaker Nancy Pilosi, and majority leader Steny Hoyer.
News 19 spoke with the congressman about the government shutdown and his future plans.
"This time, after 8 years, I not only feel well prepared. I think I'm very well equipped," said Clyburn in a phone interview Friday.
Serving as House Majority Whip is nothing new to Congressman Jim Clyburn. He held the same role from 2007 to 2011.
In his second go-around, the congressman gave us a sneak peek at what lies ahead.
He says his plans include "...delegating more to our Chief Deputy Whips and giving more opportunities for experience to our younger members."
Clyburn says he's designing a whole different approach to the Whip operation, and how they communicate. As a small example, Clyburn says he is changing fonts and color schemes for the "Whip Watch" and alerts or notices sent out. He tells us the idea is gaining positive feedback.
In the meantime, he and fellow congress members are dealing with a government shutdown.
"This is just a lot of silliness," said Clyburn. "He wants a wall. We keep saying to him, 'We'll spend $5 billion for border security using the expertise that is available to us as to the best ways to secure the border'. That's not what this man wants."
Clyburn says he plans to pitch a new idea about how the $5 billion should be spent.
"One example, I would say, is $5 billion for border security not to be spent on concrete but on proposals that have been made by the experts as to the best ways and the best places for the money to be spent," he said.
Clyburn also would add immigration reform to the budget, specifically to include stability for DACA recipients, known as "Dreamers".
"It would be a way to get into the life experiences these young people have had after having been brought here and to use those life experiences in a positive way in order to help them become good citizens," said Clyburn.
At the moment, Dreamers can continue to live in the U.S. legally because their deferred action has not been lifted. Advocates for Dreamers are pushing for a more stable status for DACA recipients, as opposed to a day-by-day situation that courts could change at any moment.
A more formal status for Dreamers is also on the President's radar.
Senator Lindsey Graham had lunch with Mr. Trump Sunday, and in an interview last weekend, Graham said the president may be interested in negotiating a broader immigration agreement that would allow Dreamers and some asylum seekers to remain in the U.S.
"He's very open minded about combining wall funding with other things that make it a win-win for the country," said Graham.
Thursday, January 10 is Clyburn's first Whip meeting discussing how operations will be organized. The duties of Majority Whip are to assist the floor leader, ensure member attendance, count votes and generally communicate the majority's position to other members.