White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the White House is willing to work with Congress to avert a partial government shutdown.
President Donald Trump has been demanding USD 5 billion to fund his long-promised US-Mexico border wall, but Democrats have balked at giving him any more than USD 1.6 billion for border security. A shutdown could happen at midnight Friday.
Sanders said on Fox News on Tuesday there are "other ways that we can get to that USD 5 billion," including one bill she says would provide USD 26 billion in border security, including USD 1.6 billion for the wall.
She says, "That's something that we would be able to support" as long as it's coupled with other funding, such as using defense money on border security.
She adds that, "At the end of the day, we don't want to shut down the government. We want to shut down the border from illegal immigration." ___ 12:30 am.
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Few if any signs of progress are emerging as President Donald Trump and Democratic lawmakers continue their standoff over funding the government and avoiding a partial shutdown at midnight Friday.
The main sticking point is Trump's demand for USD 5 billion to build a border wall along the US-Mexico border.
Even a partial shutdown would leave hundreds of thousands of federal employees furloughed or working without pay over the holiday season. Costs would likely be in the billions of dollars.
Trump doesn't have the votes from the Republican-led Congress to support his demand for border wall construction. Democrats are offering to continue funding at current levels, USD 1.3 billion, not for the wall but for fencing and other border security.
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