Trump will host congressional leaders for border talks Wednesday as shutdown impasse continues

(Image credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

published 2 January 2019

President Trump will host congressional leaders Wednesday afternoon for a Homeland Security briefing on border security, the White House confirmed Tuesday night. This will be the first time Republicans and Democrats in Congress have sat down with Trump since the partial government shutdown began Dec. 22. Democrats take control of the House on Thursday, and they plan to immediately pass two bills to reopen the government, neither of which provides more than $1.3 billion for border security. Trump is demanding $5 billion for a border wall, and White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said late Tuesday that the House Democratic bills are a "nonstarter" because each "fails to secure the border." Senate Republicans say they won't allow a vote on any bill that Trump doesn't support.

Still, it's hard to know what's public negotiating and what's the actual bottom line in the standoff talks. On Tuesday, Trump first tweeted that "without a Wall there can be no real Border Security," then suggested "Wall" may have some wiggle room after all: "Border Security and the Wall 'thing' and Shutdown is not where Nancy Pelosi wanted to start her tenure as Speaker! Let's make a deal?" Pelosi (D-Calif.), expected to be formally elected speaker on Thursday, seemed fine starting her second House speakership this way, tweeting back that Trump "has given Democrats a great opportunity to show how we will govern responsibly & quickly pass our plan to end the irresponsible #TrumpShutdown — just the first sign of things to come in our new Democratic Majority committed to working #ForThePeople."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.