White House: Democrats’ plan to end shutdown is a ‘non-starter’

Donald Trump and US congressional leaders from both political parties are set to meet for a White House border security briefing on Wednesday, the 12th day of a partial federal government shutdown triggered by the Republican president’s demand for more than $5bn to fund a border wall.

Senior Department of Homeland Security officials will brief the congressional leaders, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said, on the last day of the Republican-controlled 2017-2018 Congress.

It was unclear if the meeting would lead to a breakthrough in the standoff over a funding dispute that centres of Trump’s demand that $5bn in funding for a wall on the Mexican border be part of any spending measure. Democrats rejected the demand and, as a result, parts of the federal government have been shut down since December 22 because of lack of funding.

Trump said on Wednesday that US security officials will make a plea for the wall during the briefing. He also said he was open to working on a path to legal status for beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme. 

When Democrats, led by presumptive House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, take over the House on Thursday, they plan to approve a two-part spending package meant to end the shutdown. But its prospects of passage are grim in the Senate, where Republicans hold a majority.

The House Democrats’ measure does not contain the $5bn Trump wants for the wall – one of his key campaign promises – and sets up the first major battle of the new Congress between House Democrats led by Pelosi and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The White House dismissed the Democrats’ proposal as a “non-starter”.

“It does not fund our homeland security or keep American families safe from human trafficking, drugs, and crime,” Sanders said in a statement late on Tuesday. 

Trump remains committed to “an agreement that both reopens the government and keeps Americans safe,” she said.

Trump said last month he would be “proud” to shut down the government over the issue but then blamed Democrats.

McConnell has said Senate Republicans will not approve a spending measure that Trump does not support.

Democrats’ plan

The Democrats’ two-part package includes a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security at current levels through February 8 and provide $1.3bn for border fencing and $300m for other border security items including technology and cameras.

The second part of the package would fund federal agencies that are now unfunded, such as the Justice, Commerce and Transportation departments, through September 30.

Trump says the wall is crucial to curbing illegal immigration. Democrats disagree, with Pelosi calling the wall immoral, ineffective and expensive. Trump repeatedly said during his presidential campaign that Mexico would pay for the wall, but Mexico has refused and US taxpayers likely will be left footing the bill.

The Democratic package could put Trump and his Republican allies in a tough position. If they reject funding bills for departments unconnected to border security, Republicans could be seen as holding those agencies and their roughly 800,000 affected workers hostage to Trump’s desire to build a wall.

More than half are working without pay, while the rest are furloughed. 

Last week, federal employees sued the US government over the requirement that workers deemed “essential” must work without pay during the shutdown.

In the past, Congress has approved back pay for federal workers, but the American Federation of Government Employees, which announced the lawsuit on Monday, called the requirement to work without pay “inhumane”.

On Wednesday, the Smithsonian museums and National Zoo in Washington, DC, closed due to the shutdown.

Due to the #GovernmentShutdown, Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo are closed. We will update our operating status as soon as the situation is resolved. We do not plan to update social media other than to inform you of our operating status.

— Smithsonian (@smithsonian) January 2, 2019

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies