WASHINGTON A day after calling for a bipartisan compromise to resolve the partial government shutdown, President Donald Trump stormed out of a White House negotiating session Wednesday when Democratic leaders refused to agree to his demand for taxpayer funds to build a southern border wall.
Just left a meeting with Chuck and Nancy, a total waste of time, Trump tweeted afterward. He said he asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., if they would agree to end the shutdown, now in its 19th day, in return for funds for a wall or steel barrier, one of his major campaign promises.
The president slammed the table, asked Speaker Pelosi if she would support his wall and when she said no, he walked out and said, We have nothing to talk about, Schumer said. He didnt get his way and he just walked out of the meeting.
Pelosi said a wall will not resolve the problems currently experienced at the border. What Trump is claiming to be the situation at the border is not solved by a wall, she said.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the House minority leader, said talks had been complicated because of Democrats hard-line stance, refusing to budge on the wall or even enter serious negotiations until the government is reopened.
It is a real challenge when the Democrats wont even give an offer back, he said.
The hostile 20-minute encounter marked a shift for Trump, who previously had spoken about the progress being made during talks and his optimism that a resolution would be found.
That began to shift this week when the White House floated the idea of bypassing Congress entirely and declaring a national emergency at the border, which the administration believes will enable it to use military funds to build the wall. The idea is controversial on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers value their constitutional authority to appropriate money. But some Republicans view it as a political way out of the shutdown debacle.
The clash in the White House on Wednesday also suggested that the shutdown is likely to become the longest on record, a threshold it will pass on Saturday. Lawmakers of both parties said they saw no immediate path forward.
The White House theatrics did little to mask the uphill battle facing Trump, whose demand for $5.7 billion in funds for a border wall precipitated the government shutdown last month.
Despite a White House offensive this week including a rare Oval Office prime-time address Tuesday, a trip to Capitol Hill on Wednesday and a visit to the southern border Thursday some Republicans are beginning to get nervous about the backlash they may face as the pain from the shutdown grows.
More than 800,000 workers have been furloughed, with many being forced to work without pay. Paychecks due Friday are not expected to arrive, forcing many families to miss mortgage payments, put off medical procedures or juggle bills.
I think the president thinks there will be increasing pressure on everybody to come to the table once people start missing their paycheck. Sadly, these people are collateral damage, said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Theres going to be significant political pressure on everybody when workers and contractors start missing their paychecks and cant pay their rent or their mortgage or put food on the table.
Polls have shown that Americans increasingly blame Trump for the disruption, rather than Democrats.
Trump tried to assuage GOP concerns by meeting with rank-and-file Senate Republicans on Wednesday and urging them to stay united. Just an hour before he left the negotiation with congressional leaders, he asked Senate Republicans to hang together, according to two senators in the room.
