San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Negotiations: Vice President Mike Pence hosts talks on ending shutdown.
WASHINGTON — White House officials and congressional aides emerged from talks to end a partial government shutdown over President Trump’s demands for border wall funding without a breakthrough Saturday, though they planned to return to the table Sunday.
Trump tweeted: “Not much headway made today.” Democrats agreed there had been little movement, saying the White House did not budge on the demand for $5.6 billion.
The White House said wall funding was not discussed in depth, but the administration was clear it was necessary.
Accusations flew after the more than two-hour session led by Vice President Mike Pence. Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, in an interview on CNN, accused Democrats of being there to “stall.” Democrats familiar with the meeting said the White House position was “untenable.”
A White House official also said the meeting included a briefing on border security by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Democrats sought written details from the Department of Homeland Security on their budget needs, which the White House said it would provide.
With talks stalled, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that House Democrats plan to start approving individual bills to reopen shuttered departments starting with Treasury to ensure Americans receive their tax refunds.
Trump, who did not attend the discussions, spent the morning tweeting about border security.
Showing little empathy for the hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed or working without pay, Trump declared — without citing evidence — that most are Democrats. He also asserted: “I want to stop the Shutdown as soon as we are in agreement on Strong Border Security! I am in the White House ready to go, where are the Dems?”
One Democrat, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, said in his party’s weekly radio address that the shutdown “is part of a larger pattern of a president who puts his personal whims and his effort to score political points before the needs of the American people.”
In calling on Trump to reopen government while negotiations on border security continue, Democrats have emphasized families unable to pay bills without paychecks. But Trump has repeatedly said he will not budge without money for the wall.
Trump asserted Friday that he could declare a national emergency to build the wall without congressional approval, but would first try a “negotiated process.”