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-N.Y.). 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. 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.”This has been updated.

Source: Huffington Post January 04, 2019 19:21 UTC