Trump threatens years-long government shutdown
US president is withholding his support for a bill that would fully fund the government until he secures money for a wall on the Mexican border
Washington — President Donald Trump threatened to keep the US government partially shut for months or years on Friday after he and Democratic leaders failed to resolve their dispute over Trump's request for $5.6bn to build a wall on the Mexican border. After Democratic congressional leaders refused Trump's requests at a meeting in the White House Situation Room, the Republican president threatened to take the controversial step of declaring a national emergency and building the wall without congressional approval. Trump is withholding his support for a bill that would fully fund the government until he secures money for the wall. As a result, around 800,000 public workers have been unpaid, with about a quarter of the federal government closed for two weeks. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats had told Trump during the meeting to end the shutdown. "He resisted," Schumer said. "In fact, he said he'd keep the government closed for a very long period of time, months or...
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