Mulvaney says ‘very possible’ shutdown stretches into 2019

A top White House official warned Sunday that it’s “very possible” the partial government shutdown stretches into the new year and that how quickly numerous shuttered Cabinet departments and agencies resume doing the people’s business is up to Congress.

“The ball is in the Senate’s court,” acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said. Senate Democrats, who oppose funding for President Donald Trump’s promised border wall, contend government could reopen immediately if Trump drops his demand to extend a physical barrier along the U.S.Mexico border.

A stalemate over the wall led parts of the government to shut down Saturday after funding for numerous departments and agencies expired. Mulvaney, who is also director of the White House budget office, said he’s awaiting word from Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York after the administration on Saturday presented Schumer with a counteroffer in the long-running dispute over funding the wall.

Mulvaney withheld specifics but placed the offer between Trump’s $5.7 billion request and $1.3 billion offered by Democrats.

The shutdown was expected to last through Thursday after the House and Senate, which held rare weekend sessions, adjourned until later in the week. Monday and Tuesday, Christmas Eve and Christmas, respectively, are federal holidays, meaning much of the federal government would already be closed. Wednesday is the first day taxpayers could begin to feel the effects of a shutdown, Mulvaney said. But he predicted it could last beyond Thursday, when Congress is next scheduled to come into session.

“It’s very possible that this shutdown will go beyond the 28th and into the new Congress,” he said.

Democrats held firm Sunday in opposition to paying for a border wall, which was a central promise of Trump’s campaign for president.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said the administration is sitting on most of the money Congress gave Trump last year for border security, excluding a wall.

“If you’re not going to spend nine out of 10 dollars on an issue, you obviously don’t care about it that much,” Merkley said. “This is politics, not policy.” Mulvaney countered that “the president’s not going to not accept money for a border wall.”