President Trump on shutdown: "as long as it takes"

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC News) – In his first cabinet meeting of 2019, President Trump made it clear he’s not backing down from his demand for border wall money.

“Our southern border is like a sieve,” Mr. Trump said. “It just pours through our southern border. Unless we have physical barriers it’s never going to be able to be stopped.”

The president is blaming Democrats for a shutdown he once declared he would own.

When asked Wednesday how long he’s willing to keep the shutdown going, the president replied “As long as it takes” and added, “I think the people of the country think I’m right.”

As the shutdown stretches into Day 12 it’s getting messy.

Trash lines the National Mall. Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo have been closed. Even the panda cam has gone dark.

For some 800,000 federal employees, it’s another day of living without the guarantee of their next paycheck.