WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC) – It’s day 14 for the government shutdown and day two of a new, divided Congress.
Friday, the president and congressional leaders met again at the White House, but it appears the two sides are no closer to a deal to reopen it.
The two sides go back at it again, but the prospects for a deal to reopen the government look no brighter than the day before,
A White House meeting between the president and leaders of both parties ended with the two sides no closer to reopening the government.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) said, “We really cannot resolve this until we open up government. And we’ve made that clear to the president.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) stated, “We told the president—we needed the government open. He resisted, in fact, he said he’d keep the government closed for a very long period of time, months or even years.”
The president insists a deal to reopen government include $5 billion in funding for a border wall. He said, “No we won’t be opening until its solved. This is a much bigger problem. The border is a much more dangerous problem, it’s a much bigger problem, it’s a problem of national security.”
Late Thursday night, the House—with a new Democratic majority—passed legislation to reopen the government, without wall funding.
Newly re-elected House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged the Senate to pass the bills, saying, “The package presented yesterday can only be seen as a time-wasting act of political posturing.”
But Senate Republicans won’t even bring it up for a vote, accusing Democrats of playing politics.
But possible signs of a crack have emerged on the GOP side as two Senate Republicans said they want most government agencies re-opened as talks continue.
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