Both sides in the long-running fight over funding President Donald Trump’s US-Mexico border wall appear to have moved toward each other, but a shutdown of one-fourth of the federal Government entered Christmas without a clear resolution in sight.
In fact, a top White House official warned the shutdown could stretch into January.
Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who is also the budget director, said he was waiting to hear from Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York about a counteroffer the White House presented Schumer over the weekend. Mulvaney would only say the offer was between Trump’s $5.7 billion request and $1.3 billion Democrats have offered.
“We moved off of the five and we hope they move up from their 1.3,” Mulvaney said less than a day after a senior administration official insisted that Congress would have to cave into Trump’s demand for the shutdown to end, highlighting Trump’s unpredictable negotiating style.Schumer’s office said the parties remained “very far apart.”
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., argued for increased use of technology along the border instead of “some medieval wall.” Asked whether he’s willing to offer more money as long as it is not spent on a wall, Durbin responded: “Absolutely.”
A stalemate over the wall led parts of the Government to shut down Saturday after funding for numerous departments and agencies expired. The closure affects hundreds of thousands of federal workers across the country and was expected to last at least through Thursday, when the House and Senate meet again.
