Trump sees no openings in shutdown talks

WASHINGTON — As a partial government shutdown entered its third week, negotiations between Vice President Mike Pence and congressional aides from both parties yielded little progress Saturday.

Meanwhile, the impact on government services and on federal workers was worsening by the day.

“Not much headway made today,” President Donald Trump conceded on Twitter not long after the vice president’s office characterized the roughly two-hour talks, held next to the White House at the Old Executive Office Building, as “productive.”

The two sides are scheduled to meet again this afternoon, but there was lit- tle hope the broad divide between Trump and Democrats over his demand for more than $5 billion for a border wall would be bridged anytime soon.

Saturday’s talks came a day after Trump said the government shutdown could continue for months — or even years — if Democrats didn’t relent on their steadfast refusal to grant him the wall money.

The negotiations Satur- day focused on priorities for security rather than a dollar figure for the border wall, the vice president’s office said.

While Trump has stood by his $5.7 billion demand, Senate Democrats have offered $1.3 billion for border security, including fencing.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the top Senate Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York, repeatedly have