A White House staffer in attendance described the weekend discussions as productive and cordial, but blamed Ms. Pelosi for being unwilling to look like she was negotiating with Mr. Trump to end the shutdown. While there was little common ground, some small advances were made, White House officials said. Republicans agreed that a concrete wall was a non-starter, and that any text of a bill would refer to steel and not concrete. Several Democrats in the room, according to the White House official, said they agreed with her that a humanitarian border crisis did exist. White House aides chuckled when he noted Mr. Miller’s hard-line reputation as an immigration zealot was unfair.

Source: New York Times January 07, 2019 18:56 UTC