More Signs Shutdown Could Drag Into 2019

Chances the partial federal government shutdown may drag on into early 2019 appeared to increase as remarks by President Donald Trump indicated he is not budging on border security funding demands. Meanwhile, Democratic leaders maintained the president lacks the necessary support in Congress to clear a bill with his requested funding provisions. "I can't tell you when the government is going to be open," Trump told reporters Christmas Day. "I can tell you, it's not going to be open until we have a wall, a fence, whatever they'd like to call it. I'll call it whatever they want." Those remarks followed a Christmas Eve tweet from the president that implored congressional Democrats to "make a deal on desperately needed border security," and added, "Democrats not wanting to make a deal will cost our country more money than the border wall we are all talking about." For their part, top Democrats argue Trump and conservative House lawmakers lack the support needed to pass a funding package that meets their demands for more money for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. "As long as the president is guided by the House Freedom Caucus, it’s hard to see how he can come up with a solution that can pass both the House and Senate," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D., N.Y., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D., Calif., wrote in a joint Christmas Eve statement. The Democratic leaders also said it was difficult to negotiate with the White House as different officials have said "different things about what the president would accept or not accept," making it "impossible to know where they stand at any given moment." The rhetoric, along with other comments, including earlier ones by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director and incoming Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, further suggest an agreement to end the shutdown may not emerge before year's end.