WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. government shutdown (all times local):
11 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he’s waiting in the Oval Office for Democrats to return to Washington and negotiate an end to a partial government shutdown.
Trump tweeted to Democrats on Monday: “come back from vacation now and give us the votes necessary for Border Security, including the Wall.”
There has been little contact between the White House and congressional Democrats for more than a week, other than the Republican president’s Twitter barbs, as the two parties remain divided over his insistence on funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump says Democrats supported border security funding before, though that funding provided for fencing, not a wall. Trump tweets: “You voted yes in 2006 and 2013. One more yes, but with me in office, I’ll get it built, and Fast!”
Trump promised on the campaign trail that Mexico would pay for the wall, but Mexico refused.
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10:50 a.m.
President Donald Trump is insisting he wants to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border despite public equivocations by three of his advisers.
Trump tweeted Monday: “An all concrete Wall was NEVER ABANDONED, as has been reported by the media.” He adds: “Some areas will be all concrete but the experts at Border Patrol prefer a Wall that is see through (thereby making it possible to see what is happening on both sides).”
Outgoing White House chief of staff John Kelly told the Los Angeles Times in an interview published Sunday that Trump abandoned the notion of “a solid concrete wall early on in the administration.” Kelly said, “To be honest, it’s not a wall.”
The wall has been at the center of an impasse that has led to a partial government shutdown that will extend into 2019. Trump is insisting that Democrats fund the wall, which they oppose.
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12:35 a.m.
Three confidants of President Donald Trump, including his departing chief of staff, are indicating that the president’s signature campaign pledge to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border would not be fulfilled as advertised.
Trump sparked chants of “Build that wall!” at rallies before and after his election and more recently cited a lack of funding for a border wall as the reason for partially shutting down the government. At times the president has also waved off the idea the wall could be any kind of barrier.
However, White House chief of staff John Kelly told the Los Angeles Times in an interview that Trump abandoned the notion of “a solid concrete wall early on in the administration.” Others said border security could include a wall, fencing and high-tech monitoring.
