Weekend shutdown talks led by Pence to go into a second day

White House officials and congressional aides kicked off weekend talks aimed at ending a partial government shutdown that has dragged into a 15th day.

Vice President Mike Pence, who led the conversation, described Saturday's session as "productive" on Twitter, although no breakthrough was reached. The White House aides and Democratic and Republican staffers planned to return to the talks on Sunday.

Negotiations have been at an impasse over President Donald Trump's demands for $5.6 billion to fund a wall at the US-Mexico border.

A White House official said the meeting included a briefing on border security by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Democrats restated their request to reopen government while border security talks continue, which the White House rejected.

Democrats also sought written details on Department of Homeland Security needs, which the White House said it would provide.

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. ... He is pointing fingers at everyone but himself."
Trump asserted on Friday that he could declare a national emergency to build the wall without congressional approval, but would first try a "negotiated process."
Asked how people would manage without a financial safety net, he said: "The safety net is going to be having a strong border because we're going to be safe."
Trump confirmed to reporters that he privately told Democrats, in the Friday meeting with congressional leaders, that the shutdown could drag on for "months or even years."