WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump met with his Homeland Security secretary and other officials on Dec. 24, to discuss border security issues as a partial government shutdown over his U.S.-Mexico border wall entered Christmas without a clear resolution in sight.
Though both sides have traded offers over the dollars, they remain far apart on the wall. The White House insists Trump will reject any deal that does not include money for a wall or fence; Democrats were holding firm in their opposition to a wall or other physical barrier.
White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said a counteroffer was presented over the weekend to Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York. Mulvaney would only say the offer was between Trump’s $5.7 billion request and $1.3 billion Democrats have offered.
“We moved off of the five and we hope they move up from their 1.3,” he said Sunday.
Trump chimed in from the White House, where he has been cooped up since the shutdown began early Saturday.
“I am all alone (poor me) in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come back and make a deal on desperately needed Border Security,” Trump tweeted. “At some point the Democrats not wanting to make a deal will cost our Country more money than the Border Wall we are all talking about. Crazy!”
Trump put off plans to head to his Florida estate for Christmas and remained in Washington. His wife, First Lady Melania Trump, was returning from Florida to spend the holiday with him at the White House.
The president scheduled a border security meeting Monday afternoon at the White House with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and other department officials, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
Senate negotiators are continuing talks behind the scenes with Democrats and Republicans. The House and Senate briefly gaveled into session on Christmas Eve before closing again with no further action.
In their statement, Pelosi and Schumer said: “different people from the same White House are saying different things about what the president would accept or not accept to end his Trump Shutdown, making it impossible to know where they stand at any given moment.”
Trump blamed Democrats for the stalemate, tweeting Monday that “Virtually every Democrat we are dealing with today strongly supported a Border Wall or Fence. It was only when I made it an important part of my campaign, because people and drugs were pouring into our Country unchecked, that they turned against it. Desperately needed!”
Several Cabinet departments and agencies have been closed since Saturday after their funding lapsed. The closure is expected to last at least through Thursday, when the House and Senate meet again.
Mulvaney predicted the shutdown could stretch into January, when Democrats assume control of the House.
“It’s very possible that this shutdown will go beyond the 28th and into the new Congress,” he said.
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