United States President Donald Trump on Saturday tweeted that not much headway had been made in talks with House of Representatives, which is controlled by the Democratic Party, about ending the partial government shutdown that has paralysed his administration for weeks.
He said a second meeting between Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic Party leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelsoi is scheduled for Sunday. “After so many decades, must finally and permanently fix the problems on the Southern Border!” Trump tweeted. Meanwhile, the president said he would visit Camp David during the day to hold meetings with senior White House staff on border security and other subjects.
On Saturday, Pelosi, who is the House speaker, announced that Democrats were planning to start approving individual bills to reopen government departments, starting with Treasury to ensure Americans receive their tax returns, AP reported.
While acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney accused Democrats of attending the meeting with Pence with the aim of stalling the talks, Democrats said the White House position was untenable.
On Thursday, the House passed legislative measures to reopen the government but refused to allocate $5 billion for building a wall on the country’s border with Mexico. The border wall was one of Trump’s main electoral promises. The US Senate, which is controlled by the Republicans, however, decided not to pass the House proposal.
The following day, Trump threatened to declare a national emergency to build the without congressional approval and said he was prepared for a partial government shutdown to last for “months or even years”. Around 8 lakh federal workers have been been affected by the shutdown.
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