President Donald Trump made a Thanksgiving Day threat to close the US border with Mexico for an undisclosed period of time if his administration determines that its southern ally has lost "control" on its side.
Trump also said he has given the thousands of active-duty troops he sent to the border before the Nov. 6 midterm elections the "OK" to use lethal force against migrants "if they have to." And he said Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, whom he has faulted for not being tough enough on immigration, is "in there trying." "It's a tough job," he said.
The president would not discount the possibility of a partial government shutdown early in December over lawmakers' refusal to allocate the billions of dollars he is demanding for a border wall, the central promise of his 2016 campaign.
"Could there be a shutdown? There certainly could, and it will be about border security, of which the wall is a part," Trump said.
Trump made the comments in a wide-ranging question-and-answer session with reporters at his Florida golf club after he conveyed holiday wishes in a telephone call with select members of the American military serving around the globe.
That conversation grew from a presidential expression of gratitude for their commitment to protecting the country and its interest and touched on a variety of political topics, including immigration policy, the economy and
Trump's displeasure with court rulings against administration initiatives.
In his remarks afterward to reporters, Trump moved quickly from issue to issue, from the border and his public dispute with Chief Justice John Roberts to relations with China, a possible staff and Cabinet shake-up and his defense of acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker.
Trump's border threat came days after a federal judge put the administration's asylum policy on hold. Under that new policy, Trump declared no one could apply for asylum except at an official border entry point. Some ports of entry are already facing huge backups, with people waiting for weeks.
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