US lawmakers were scrambling Monday to avert a partial government shutdown, with Republican and Democratic leaders locked in a stalemate over President Donald Trump's demands for border wall funding.
As Washington barreled towards a shuttering of key federal agencies in just four days, the White House appeared dug in on Trump's call for Congress to budget USD 5 billion in 2019 to fund a wall on the US-Mexico border that he insists will check illegal immigration.
If no breakthrough is reached, the shutdown would occur over the Christmas holiday -- when most lawmakers flee the US Capitol -- leaving Washington red-faced at the end of the year.
The closure could potentially spill into early January, when the new Congress -- including a Democratically controlled House of Representatives -- is sworn in.
Congressional leaders say they are opposed to a shutdown. Democrats are united in their opposition to Trump's USD 5 billion ask, saying their intent is to offer no more than USD 1.6 billion in border security funding as laid out in bipartisan legislation earlier this month.
On Monday Trump launched a fresh attack on the opposition party and its offer of wall-less border security funding.
"Anytime you hear a Democrat saying that you can have good Boarder (sic) Security without a Wall, write them off as just another politician following the party line," Trump tweeted.
"Time for us to save billions of dollars a year and have, at the same time, far greater safety and control!" White House senior advisor Stephen Miller said the wall -- the last sticking point in funding negotiations -- remained a top priority.
"We're going to do whatever is necessary to build the border wall to stop this ongoing crisis of illegal immigration," Miller told CBS Sunday talk show "Face the Nation." Asked if that means a shutdown, Miller was firm: "If it comes to it, absolutely."
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