By: JORDAN FABIAN, The Hill – 01/02/19 04:46 PM EST
A partial government shutdown showed no signs of ending Wednesday as congressional leaders left what appeared to be an unproductive meeting with President Trump.
Before and after the meeting, there was little talk of compromise as Trump and Democrats battled over his demand for border-wall funding, all but assuring the shutdown will barrel into a third week.
Trump invited congressional leaders back to the White House for another round of talks on Friday, the day after Democrats take over the House majority. But it remains unclear how they will resolve the funding impasse.
“We are asking the president to open up the government,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said outside the White House following the meeting. “We are giving him a Republican path to do that. Why would he not do it?”
Pelosi said she planned to move ahead with a plan to vote Thursday on a spending bill Friday without the funding for a border wall that Trump demanded.
The shutdown began on Dec. 22 after Democrats refused to agree to Trump's demand for more than $5 billion in funding for a wall on the Mexican border, one of his biggest unfulfilled campaign promises.
The White House and congressional Republicans have said the plan proposed by House Democrats for reopening the government is a non-starter.
It would fund most of the closed parts of the government through the end of the fiscal year, while only funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through Feb. 8 to buy more time to negotiate over border security.
DHS is in charge of patrolling the border and legal ports of entry.
“I don’t think any particular progress was made today,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who reiterated he would not put the House Democrats’ bill on the floor for a vote because Trump will not sign it.
“We're hopeful that somehow in the coming days and weeks we'll be able to reach an agreement,” he added.
Ahead of the meeting, Trump said he would not hesitate to keep government agencies shuttered “as long as it takes” to secure wall funding.
Source: The Hill
