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Trump Threatens To Continue Government Shutdown For 'Months Or Even Years'
Huffington Post
Thu Jan 3, 2019
Category: Politics
Area: Washington, DC (Hagerstown)
WASHINGTON, DC - Continuing negotiations over the government shutdown and funding for his border wall, President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to withhold funding for multiple government agencies "for a very long period of time - months or even years," according to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) spoke to reporters following a meeting with Trump at the White House, which they characterized as "contentious," signaling that negotiations over the shutdown are not likely to end soon.
But during remarks in the White House Rose Garden, Trump boasted that the meeting was "productive."
"Absolutely, I said that," Trump told reporters, when asked if he made the threat. But he reiterated that the meeting was "productive," and said that "I hope [the shutdown] doesn't go on even beyond a few more days."
Trump claimed that "we're all on the same path in terms of wanting to get government open," before announcing that he has convened a group slated to meet "over the weekend to determine what we're going to do about the border."
The partial government shutdown has lasted 14 days as Trump continues to insist on the $5 billion he wants to build his long-promised border wall.
When asked Friday why he would not just reopen the government and negotiate over the border wall later, Trump said: "We won't be opening until it's solved."
Trump later suggested he could declare a "national emergency" to circumvent Congress to fund the wall.
Asked if there were plans to help federal workers who have not gotten paid because of the shutdown, Trump claimed without evidence that they "are the biggest fan of what we are doing," and said that "the safety net is having a strong border."
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