US Government Shutdown: President Trump to attend Camp David with White House staff as vice president left to try and solve deadlock

President Trump has said he is prepared for the shutdown to continue
EPA
Jacob Jarvis5 January 2019

Donald Trump is visiting Camp David to discuss his administration’s priorities for 2019, with his vice president in charge of handling government shutdown negotiations while he is away.

The US president will attend the compound for a “staff retreat” over the weekend, with senior White House staff making plans for the year ahead.

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Trump will lead meetings on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Mike Pence, senior adviser Jared Kushner and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen will be meeting with House and Senate leadership staff to try cease the shutdown deadlock.

Mike Pence will be attempting to resolve the stalemante
EPA

The US government has been in a partial shutdown in recent weeks, as conflict over President Trump’s much-derided border wall plan continues.

He has persisted in his demand for $5billion to fund the massive barrier between the US and Mexico, with opponents constantly batting back the request.

On Friday, Democrats reported that President said he would prepared to see the shutdown, which is directly affecting around 800,000 workers, continue for months or even years.

Nancy Pelosi, the speaker for the House of Representatives, has said the wall will not be funded
EPA

"We won't be opening until it's solved," President Trump said. "I don't call it a shutdown. I call it doing what you have to do for the benefit and the safety of our country."

He also confirmed he privately told Democrats the shutdown could drag on for months or years, though he said: "I hope it doesn't go on even beyond a few more days."

He met with congressional leaders from both parties as the shutdown hit the two-week mark.

A stop sign near the White House during a government shutdown in Washington
AFP/Getty Images

Democrats emerged from the meeting, which both sides agreed was contentious at times, to report little progress.

Opposing politicians continued to call on President Trump to reopen the government while negotiations continue. Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said: "It's very hard to see how progress will be made unless they open up the government."

House Democrats muscled through legislation Thursday night to fund the government but not President Trump's proposed wall.

Despite this, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said those measures are non-starters on his side of the Capitol without the president's support.

Schumer said that if McConnell and Senate Republicans stay on the sidelines, "Trump can keep the government shut down for a long time."

Financial analysts have warned of the risks of closures that are disrupting government operations across multiple departments and agencies at a time of other uncertainties in the stock market and foreign trade.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in