Trump threatened to keep government shut down for ‘months or even years’ to get border wall funds, Democrats say MSN, Jan 4, 2019, Washington Post; Seung Min Kim, Erica Werner, Josh Dawsey
Update: President Trump threatened Friday to keep the government shut down for months or even years in order to get money for his border wall, Democratic leaders said after a meeting with the president at the White House.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said their White House meeting with President Trump and Republicans was lengthy and contentious, as they reiterated their opposition to new funding for a border wall and urged Trump to end the partial shutdown.
“We told the president, we needed the government open. He resisted. In fact he said he’d keep the government closed for a very long period of time, months or even years,†Schumer said.
This story will be updated.
Previous reportThe White House is scrambling to unify Republicans behind President Trump’s demand for money to build a border wall as part of any deal to reopen the government, as GOP lawmakers are caught between the president’s push to fund his signature campaign promise and the spreading consequences of a two-week old partial shutdown.
Vice President Pence called about a half-dozen House Republicans late Thursday to urge them to vote against measures that would reopen the government without new wall funding, amid White House worries that broad GOP defections would give the Democratic effort bipartisan backing.
Two Republican officials confirmed the calls, speaking on the condition of anonymity to divulge the private communications.
Ultimately, just five House GOP lawmakers voted with Democrats on a spending bill that would operate the Department of Homeland Security until Feb. 8, and seven Republicans supported separate legislation that would re-open the rest of the federal government through Sept. 30. GOP officials feared the defections could have been much higher had the administration not gotten directly involved.
Pence’s efforts reflect a growing anxiety among Congressional Republicans over the two-week shutdown that has halted paychecks for 800,000 federal workers but shown no signs of ending anytime soon. Congressional leaders headed to the White House again on Friday in an attempt to end the dispute, yet few expected any resolution from the 11:30 a.m. meeting in the Situation Room.
Congress also adjourned until Tuesday, making Wednesday the earliest the federal government can reopen — barring a major development between the administration and Congress.
Pence’s outreach centered primarily on moderate members and those who hail from the northeast — some who ended up voting for the bills, and others who didn’t. The vice president’s pitch to Republicans centered on two main points: The country needs funding for a wall, and Congress shouldn’t kick the can to February, when the stopgap funding for DHS would have expired under the Democratic strategy.
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http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-threatened-to-keep-government-shut-down-for-%e2%80%98months-or-even-years%e2%80%99-to-get-border-wall-funds-democrats-say/ar-BBROqDg?ocid=ientp
