“We can find common ground,” Mr. McCarthy told reporters. According to a person in the meeting, Ms. Pelosi cut off the Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen as she was reeling off statistics about the border. The shutdown, which enters its third week on Saturday, has left about 800,000 workers without pay, limited the functions of federal agencies and slowed the court system. There are also concerns that if the shutdown continues for several more weeks, it will harm the overall economy. Mr. Gardner called on his party to end the shutdown, even if it meant not funding the wall, and Ms. Collins said she would support measures to fund the government in already approved appropriations bills.

Source: New York Times January 04, 2019 15:32 UTC