President Trump says government shutdown, in 12th day, could last a 'long time'

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump and other lawmakers warned Wednesday that the partial government shutdown could last a "long time" as a White House meeting ended with little progress on a deal over Trump's proposed border wall.

Democrats who take control of the House of Representatives when the new Congress is sworn in Thursday said they would continue to push their own plan to reopen parts of the government, even though Trump rejected it because of a lack of wall funding.

"We have given the Republicans a chance to take yes for an answer," House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said after the White House hosted a border security meeting in the Situation Room.

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, who attended the meeting, said Trump asked lawmakers to come back Friday to discuss other ways to end the shutdown.

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"It doesn't have to last much longer at all," McCarthy said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., struck a less optimistic note: "I don't think any particular progress was made" at the White House session.

"We're hopeful that somehow in the coming days and weeks, we'll be able to reach an agreement," McConnell said.

Hours before the White House session, Trump said he stands behind his demand for more than $5 billion in wall funding, way more than Democrats are willing to approve.

"Walls work," Trump said during a meeting of his Cabinet, adding that the shutdown will last “as long as it takes” to get sufficient funding for a border barrier.

"It could be a long time, and it could be quickly," he said.

Trump later tweeted that he was "ready and willing" to work out a deal that includes border security. 

Trump also rejected a plan floated by some of his own advisers shortly after the shutdown began, one that would provide some $2.5 billion in border security spending, including wall funding.

As the partial government shutdown passed its 12th day, congressional officials described the White House meeting as little more than an informational session on border security, the issue at the heart of the budget impasse that created the shutdown. 

Democrats said the wall sends the wrong message for a country that has thrived on immigration. Trump said that if a wall is immoral, someone should do something about the one that surrounds the Vatican.

Pelosi said the plan that the Democratic House intends to pass includes elements that congressional Republicans have endorsed.

The measure includes full-year funding for shuttered departments except for the Department of Homeland Security, which handles immigration and border security. It calls for temporary funding of the DHS through Feb. 8 as Trump and Congress negotiate a long-term plan, though many Democrats oppose any federal funding for the wall.

"We're asking the president to open up government," Pelosi said. "We are giving him a Republican path to do that. Why would he not do it?"

Trump argued that walls have historically been the best way to prevent illegal border crossings, telling his Cabinet, “The wheel, the wall, some things never get old."

He accused Democrats of playing politics with an eye toward the 2020 presidential campaign.

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Pelosi attended the White House briefing with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and other lawmakers, including Republicans McConnell and McCarthy.

The last time the Democratic leaders were at the White House, Trump argued with them on camera about the wall and said he would be willing to shut down the government over the issue.

Cameras were not allowed into Wednesday's meeting, which was more sedate.

Another Democratic attendee, incoming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, said most of the conferees believe "shutting down government is a stupid public policy."

In a tweet Wednesday, Trump claimed Mexico "is paying for the Wall" through a new trade deal, though the agreement has yet to be approved by Congress. Citing his budget demand, Trump said $5.6 billion in wall funding endorsed by the outgoing Republican House "is very little in comparison to the benefits of National Security. Quick payback!"

During his Cabinet meeting, Trump claimed there are 30 million to 35 million people in the USA illegally. A report from the Pew Research Center put the number of unauthorized immigrants at 10.7 million in 2016.

Trump discussed – but did not specifically endorse – a proposal in which Democrats would support wall funding in exchange for new legal status for "Dreamers," the children of undocumented parents whose fate is uncertain after Trump ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

On the table in front of the president was an unusual artifact: a poster of him with the phrase "Sanctions Are Coming," a play on the tagline of the television program "Game of Thrones." The poster is a reference to Trump's decision to end the Iran nuclear agreement.

The partial shutdown began at midnight Dec. 21 when a government funding plan expired. Trump refused to endorse replacement plans because, in his view, they did not include sufficient funds for the wall and border security. A previous deal included $1.6 billion for border fencing, less than the $5 billion Trump demanded.