President Trump will meet with congressional leaders in the White House Situation Room, a session that will either worsen the border wall dispute or begin peace talks.
WASHINGTON — President Trump plans to host congressional leaders on Wednesday in the White House Situation Room for a border security briefing that could either be the latest skirmish over his wall or the beginnings of a resolution to a government shutdown that is stretching into its 12th day.
The 3 p.m. gathering will be in the secure room in the White House basement where military operations are tracked and other sensitive discussions unfold, a conscious effort to infuse a sense of national-security crisis into the immigration discussion. It will be Mr. Trump’s first face-to-face meeting with Democratic leaders since a combative session last month when he said he would insist that any government spending bill include money for a wall on the southwestern border — and would proudly own the consequences if that meant a shutdown.
Democrats have refused to allocate any money — let alone the $5 billion that Mr. Trump has demanded — for a large, physical barrier like the wall desired by the president to thwart illegal border crossings.
