The Latest: In New Orleans, Trump vows to fight for wall
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the government shutdown (all times local):
8:45 p.m.
President Donald Trump has rejected a short-term legislative fix for the partial government shutdown, declaring he will “never ever back down.”
Trump rejected a suggestion to reopen the government for several weeks while negotiations would continue with Democrats over his demands for $5.7 billion for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The president also edged further away from the idea of trying to declare a national emergency to circumvent Congress.
No cracks were apparent in the president’s deadlock with lawmakers after a weekend with no negotiations at all. His rejection of the short-term option proposed by Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham removed one path forward, and little else is in sight.
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2:20 p.m.
President Donald Trump is vowing to continue to fight for border wall funding during a speech in New Orleans.
Trump spoke at a farm convention Monday, declaring: “When it comes to keeping the American people safe, I will never, ever back down.”
Trump spent much of his remarks justifying his position, insisting that a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border is needed on security and humanitarian grounds.
Trump says he asked Congress for a “steel barrier” because we “need strength.”
Trump is locked in an impasse with congressional Democrats. He has demanded $5.7 billion in wall funding. Democrats, who oppose the wall as immoral and wasteful, have called on him to reopen the government while border negotiations continue.
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12:40 a.m.
Congress returns to Washington for its first full week of business since control of the House reverted to Democrats, but lawmakers will face with the same lingering question: When will the partial government shutdown end?
Sen. Lindsay Graham says he’s offered President Donald Trump a possible solution, though it may just be wishful thinking.
The South Carolina Republican is encouraging Trump to reopen government for several weeks to continue negotiating with Democrats over a border wall. Graham says if there’s no deal at the end of that time, Trump should take the more dramatic step of declaring a national emergency to build it.
But Trump wants a deal first, and Democrats want government reopened first.
The partial government shutdown is on its 24th day without an end in sight.
The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.
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