Trump says US govt shutdown could 'last a long time'

The United States government shutdown could last a long time, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (local time).

Interacting with reporters during a cabinet meeting, Trump reiterated that he wouldn't accept anything less than USD 2.5 billion for his long-promised border wall.

"I mean, we spend in Afghanistan more in one month than what we're talking about for the wall. Think of that, okay. That's another way," CNN quoted Trump as saying.

"USD 5 billion for the wall is such a small amount compared to the USD 54 billion in foreign aid. Why give money to other countries but not to our own?" he asked.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who attended the meeting along with a number of other leaders, said there was no progress made towards ending the shutdown, adding that he was hopeful of achieving progress in the days to come.

Echoing similar thoughts, Senator Chuck Schumer opined that using the partial shutdown as hostage was not appropriate.

On the 12th day of the shutdown (Wednesday), Trump met with leaders from both parties to arrive at a solution to end this partial government shutdown.

Democrats will take control of the House on Thursday (local time) as the new Congress convenes, and House Democratic leaders are expected to vote on proposals to reopen the government just hours later, CNN reported.

The recent shutdown, the third time in the last one year, was imminent as the US President remained at odds with lawmakers over border wall funding. The shutdown resulted in many federal workers going on temporary leave due to paucity of funds.