Shutdown continues as border wall stalls

President seems willing to hold out for billions he says he wants for barrier

WASHINGTON— U. S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday the partial government shutdown will last “as long as it takes” as closures entered a 12th day over his demands for billions of dollars from Congress to build a border wall with Mexico.

“Could be a long time or could be quickly,” Trump said during lengthy comments at a cabinet meeting at the White House.

But Trump also rejected his own administration’s offer to accept $2.5 billion (U.S.) for the wall. That offer was made when Vice-President Mike Pence and other top officials met with Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer at the start of the shutdown. Instead, Trump repeatedly pushed for the $5.6 billion he has demanded.

Trump made his case ahead of the afternoon session with Democratic and Republican leaders about the migrants arriving at the border in recent days. He said the current border is “like a sieve” and noted the tear gas “flying” overnight to deter arrivals. He called the border “very tough” at keeping immigrants out.

“If they knew they couldn’t come through, they wouldn’t even start,” Trump said at the meeting, joined by cabinet secretaries and top advisers, including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

The meeting came as the shutdown dragged through its second week, closing some parks and leaving hundreds of thousands of federal employees without pay.

Trump complained that he’d been “lonely” at the White House during the holiday break, having skipped his getaway to Mar-a-Lago in Florida. He claimed his only companions were the “machine-gunners,” referring to security personnel, and “they don’t wave, they don’t smile.” He also criticized Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, for visiting Hawaii.

At the Capitol on Wednesday, Pelosi said she hoped Republicans and the White House “are hearing what we have offered” to end the shutdown.