The top four congressional negotiators on border security funding resumed talks, with the possibility of another shutdown if they fail to reach a deal.
WASHINGTON –The top four Democratic and Republican congressional negotiators on border security funding resumed talks on Monday, with the possibility of another partial U. S. government shutdown looming if they fail to reach a deal by a Friday deadline.
The talks, which had broken down over the weekend, restarted in the U. S. Capitol just hours before a scheduled rally in the Texas border city of El Paso where President Donald Trump will promote his promised wall along the U. S.-Mexico border, a proposal opposed by Democrats.
An anti-wall protest will greet the Republican president, led by hometown Democrat Beto O’Rourke, the former congressman who is considering running for his party’s 2020 presidential nomination after gaining national prominence last year by nearly upsetting Republican Ted Cruz in a U. S. Senate race in Texas.
In Washington, the lawmakers hope to reach an agreement on Monday to allow time for the legislation to pass the House of Representatives and Senate and get Trump’s signature by Friday, when funding is due to expire for the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department and several other federal agencies.
Trump, who in December said he would be “proud” to shut the federal government over border security, took a different tack on Monday. “It’s up to the Democrats,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked whether the government was headed toward its second shutdown of the winter.
