President Trump likes to tell everyone that he’s a great “deal maker” but when it comes to reopening the federal government, his negotiation skills have been lacking.
Trump today rejected a plan from Democrats to reopen key parts of the federal government, as a meeting of the country’s top political leaders disbanded with no sign of progress toward ending the partial shutdown.
Trump is demanding more than $5 billion to build a new wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
If he doesn’t get it, he’s not interested in talking.
So much for being a great “deal maker.”
House Democrats plan to advance legislation that would reopen key parts of the government but deny Trump any additional money for a wall, as one of their first acts after they take control of the chamber tomorrow.
But Trump told congressional leaders he will not sign the measure, said incoming House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who attended the meeting.
Trump has invited congressional leaders back to the White House on Friday for more discussions.
But neither side offered any indication that a deal was within reach.
The jostling from Trump and top Democrats reflects how Washington’s new balance of power will not break the impasse that has shuttered large parts of the government since Dec. 22.
And with no obvious path to a compromise, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) today said the shutdown could drag on for “weeks.”
The 12-day government shutdown has entered a new and unruly phase.
Before the meeting, Trump leveled a series of false claims about immigration and the federal budget.
Democrats countered by accusing the president of intransigence and said they would not yield to his demands.
“We have given the Republicans a chance to take ‘yes’ for an answer,” incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said after the meeting.
Earlier, Trump said the shutdown would go on “as long as it takes.”
The shutdown began Dec. 22, and its effects are spreading, particularly in the Washington region.
The Smithsonian Institution closed its museums and the National Zoo on Wednesday.
Trash and human waste are piling up at national parks.
The District of Columbia has stopped issuing marriage licenses because of cutbacks to its funding, and the Internal Revenue Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, and a number of other agencies have suspended or scaled back a range of services for families and businesses.